Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God

Our enemy is spiritual and invisible. The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph 6:12).

There's no question we are in a struggle, but how do we fight? Are we supposed to bind the principalities and powers? Are we supposed to tear down regional strongholds? I heard of one Christian leader, who climbed one of the world's highest mountains to do this. That's a valiant effort. But is this kind of behavior true spiritual warfare according to Scripture? Let's get our Bibles out and see.

Armor of God
Let's continue with the passage I've just cited, which is Paul's most explicit teaching on spiritual warfare. He went on to write, "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph 6:13-17). God has given us this armor of light as a highly effective protection from darkness when used properly. Now let's review each piece of armor.

The six pieces of armor are the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 

The Armor of God is Literal, Spiritual Armor

The armor of God is God's actual armor of light, and is not figurative or symbolic. It comes down from Him in heaven, and it goes on your spirit body. We each have a physical body made of flesh and blood, as well as a spirit body (1 Cor 15:44b). The armor of God is spiritual armor to wear on our spirit bodies.

How to Put On the Armor of God

You may be wondering how to put on the full armor of God, as Scripture instructs us to do. Here is how to do it. Pray like this: "Father, would you please put your complete armor on me now, I ask and thank you for it, in the name of Jesus."

This is what Dr. Rebecca Brown, MD was shown by her guardian angel, as she wrote in her book called, He Came to Set the Captives Free: A Guide to Recognizing and Fighting the Attacks of Satan, Witches, and the Occult. I highly recommend reading this book, which is available from Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and other major retail outlets, as well as used book retailers online.

How Often Must You Armor Up

In Rebecca Brown's book, regarding the frequency with which we must put on the armor, she wrote: "Father says that once every 24 hours will be sufficient. Even as the Lord Jesus told you when He was here on earth that you must take up your cross daily, so must you put on the armor and prepare for battle daily. You must understand that this is very important. Don't forget to ask for it each day. If you don't have the armor on you will get hurt." 

Pray in the Spirit
Lastly, Paul taught that with our armor on we should pray in the Spirit. He wrote: "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." (Eph 6:18). He clarified for the Corinthians, in his teaching about tongues, what it means to pray in the spirit. "Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also." (1Co 14:13-15). When you pray in an unknown language, your spirit prays.

Resisting the devil
One way to combat the enemy is to resist him. Paul wrote: "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." (Eph 6:13) When you take up the full armor, you are able to resist the devil.

James put it like this, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (Jam 4:7) To resist is to not back down. Don’t give up to the enemy. Don’t give yourself over to the enemy. Don’t give in to the enemy. No matter what tactics he uses, he will be unable to move you off your ground. Stand your ground. The devil will be unable to take control of any area of your life, which is God's territory.

One way to resist the devil is to act in the opposite spirit. This displaces the enemy. What do I mean by displace? When a ship is put into the water, it displaces water. Likewise, if you fill a tub with water all the way to the top, and then get into the tub, you will displace the water, and it will spill out. Where there is a stronghold of pride, walk in humility. This is real warfare. There may be pride all around you, yet in the place where you are standing there is only humility. Your life, which is God's territory, remains under the control of the Holy Spirit. When you act this way, you effectively displace the enemy. You don't have to worry about the enemy reducing you to nothing when you already know you are nothing apart from Christ. It's only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, because only the Holy Spirit can bring forth this fruit in our lives. We cannot do it in our own strength.

Likewise, where there is a stronghold of envy, walk in kindness and share with others. In place of hatred, walk in love. As Jesus said, bless those who curse you. Love your enemies.  

Pray in the Spirit

Paul the apostle taught us to pray in the Spirit on all occasions for all the Lord's people. He wrote: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." (Eph 6:18). Notice that we must be alert, too! 

Putting it All Together
Spiritual warfare is more than just casting out demons. It's not just confronting demonic entities that seek to harm, hinder, intimidate, deceive or tempt you. That's just one aspect of it.

You need to make sure that you put on the complete armor of God once per day by asking the Father to put His complete armor on you at that moment, asking for it in the name of Jesus, and thanking Him for doing so. Then walk in confidence. It's very important to do so once every 24 hours, in order to protect yourself from getting hurt. You need not be afraid of the enemy when you are wearing your armor. Pray in the spirit, especially for all the saints.

Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. Don't back down. Stand your ground and don’t give in to the enemy. And be sure to stay alert, praying in the Spirit on all occasions for all the saints.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Quotations also taken from He Came to Set the Captives Free: A Guide to Recognizing and Fighting the Attacks of Satan, Witches, and the Occult, by Rebecca Brown, MD, copyright 1986, Whitaker House.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page for this blog, and you can also find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Evil Nephilim Giants

Dolmen in Johfiyeh Irbid north of Jordan

I’d like to explore a topic that seems on the surface to be extraneous and far-fetched, but that actually has far reaching implications, if it is true.  I’d like to explore the topic of the Nephilim.  Who were they?  Were they real or mythical? Where did this race come from?  What archeological evidence do we have of their existence?  What are the implications for our world today, if they did exist? We’ll explore all of these questions and more.  So let’s get our Bibles out and open them to see what the Scriptures say about this.

The relationship between the Nephilim and the sons of God
We begin with the first book of Moses, the book of Genesis.  In the passage where he wrote about the condition of the world in the days of Noah, just before the flood, he wrote: “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.”  (Gen 6:4)

To put this into context, let just do a quick verbal timeline sketch.  Moses, the inspired writer of the book of Genesis, died around 1400 BC and the flood happened at least six hundred years earlier, perhaps around 2400 BC.  So Moses was writing this passage several hundred years after the flood took place. And at that time, he wrote that the “Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward…” This is the first mention of the Nephilim in the Scriptures, and it helps us understand where they came from.  They are directly connected with the sons of God, because in the same sentence where Moses introduced the Nephilim, he referred to the sons of God coming into the daughters of men and the offspring produced by this union.  Therefore, it’s important to determine whom he referred to as the sons of God.

But before we do that, let’s just note that the next time Moses mentioned the Nephilim was in his fourth book, known as Numbers.  In his account of the spies sent into Canaan, he wrote: "There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (Num 13:33).  We’ll return to this later in more detail.  But now back to the matter of determining who the sons of God were.

If the term “sons of God” simply refers to “sons of men,” then there was nothing special about that.  The sons of men had been marrying the daughters of men since the beginning.  But when Moses wrote this, he was drawing attention to something out of the ordinary.  There is a contrast between the two expressions, “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men.”

Let’s just observe the differences between the two expressions:

The sons of God – sons are male offspring; God is the Divine Being.  This implies they were supposed to be serving God.  They had a place of honor.  They were meant to obey God.  They were angels.

The daughters of men – daughters are female offspring; men are God’s human creations, made in God’s image.

Right at this point in the Bible, we see that men were becoming evil. God made the decision that he would not strive with men forever, and He reduced the human life span to 120 years.  Prior to that time, men were living for hundreds of years.  The Nephilim are clearly connected with the children produced by the union of the sons of God with the daughters of men.

“Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’" (Gen 6:1-3)

“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.’"  (Gen 6:5-7)

The Lord God decided to destroy the whole earth, because it was filled with violence. “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.’” (Gen 6:11-13)

In the Numbers passage, God told Moses to choose a leader from each of the twelve tribes of Israel and send them into Canaan to spy out the land. 

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses saying, ‘Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers' tribes, every one a leader among them.’ So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel.” (Num 13:1-3)

These men were not wimpy.  They were heads of the sons of Israel.  But when they returned from their spy mission, they were afraid of what they saw.  Here is the account of the report they brought back to Moses:

“When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Thus they told him, and said, ‘We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.’" (Num 13:25-29)

When they came back from their spy mission, they reported that they had seen giants that were much bigger than they were.  They were afraid of the giants. They reported, “we saw the descendants of Anak there.” "There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (Num 13:33)

Not only did the spies feel like little, tiny insects compared to these giants, but when the giants saw the spies, they viewed them as little insects, too.  They said, “we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

So all but two of the spies strongly advised against attacking the people in the land of Canaan.  “But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.’ So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, ‘The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.’" (Num 13:31-33).  Note that the men they saw were of “great size.”

The only ones who were not afraid were Caleb and Joshua.  These men had faith in God and believed that they could go up and take the country.  “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.’" (Num 13:30)

“Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us--a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.’" (Num 14:6-9)  In spite of the great size of the giants who inhabited the land, Caleb and Joshua firmly believed that if the Lord were pleased with the Israelites, He would give them the victory over these giants and cause them to possess the land.

The term “sons of God” in the Scriptures
Let’s look at the Scriptures where the term “sons of God” is used.

"The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.” (Gen 6:2)

“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” (Gen 6:4)

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” (Job 1:6; also see Job 2:1).  Since Satan came to present himself to God at the same time that the sons of God did, and we know that Satan is a fallen angel, then it would be reasonable to understand the “sons of God” to be angels.

“When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
(Job 38:7).   In this passage, God is speaking about the time when He created the earth.  So the sons of God who shouted for joy were the angels, since man had not yet been created.

We see this expression, “sons of God” again in the New Testament.  Jesus was declared to be The Son of God (Jn 3:16; 11:4; cf. Mat 1:23; 4:3,6; 8:29; 14:33; 16:16; 26:63; 27:40; 27:43, 54; Mar 1:1; 3:11; 5:7; 15:39; Luk 1:32, 35; 4:3, 9, 41; 8:28; 22:69, 70; Joh 1:34, 49; 3:16-18, 36; 5:25; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; 20:31; Act 7:56; 8:37; 9:20; 13:33; Rom 1:4, 9; 5:10; 8:3; 1Co 1:9; 15:28; 2Co 1:19; Gal 2:20; 4:4; Eph 4:13; Heb 1:8; 4:14; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29; 2Pe 1:17; 1Jo 3:8; 4:9,10, 15; 5:5, 9-13, 20; 2Jo 1:3,9; Rev 2:18;). 

Jesus, the Son of God, said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Mat 5:9)  Why would peacemakers be called “sons of God?”

The apostle Paul also used this term to refer to those to whom God gave the right to become His children. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:26). In other passages he wrote: “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Rom 8:14). “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Rom 8:19)

In the Old Testament, the term “sons of God” had referred to supernatural beings that were higher than humans but lower than God.  In other words, it always referred to angels, which are created beings.  But in the New Testament, we find that humans could now be called sons of God.  Adam was referred to as the son of God, since he was a direct creation of God.  And as I just mentioned, Jesus used the term sons of God for the peacemakers.  Elsewhere He described the future characteristics of the sons of God, saying, “for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.” (Luk 20:36).  Jesus was talking about what human sons of God will be like in the resurrection.  Specifically he was referring to the righteous who rise to eternal life.  He said that we would be like the angels and would not die anymore. He also said we would no longer marry.

Left their estate
Jude clarifies the matter further and tells us, “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.” (Jud 1:6-7)

In this passage, Jude speaks of angels who did not keep their own domain.  In order to understand what that means, we should look at the rest of the sentence.  It goes on to say that they abandoned their proper abode.  They left the place where they were supposed to be.  But what sin did they commit when they did so?  Jude says their sin was sexual immorality.  He says that these angels are kept in chains for the judgment, just as Sodom and Gomorrah.  Jude taught that the angels indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, in the same way the people of Sodom and Gomorrah did.

We know that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexuality.  Paul described it like this: “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” (Rom 1:26-27)  God did not created Adam and Steve.  He created Adam and Eve.  But these men “abandoned the natural function for that which is unnatural.” 

Likewise the angels who sinned left the heavens and used earth as a colony.  They left their celestial abode for a terrestrial one.  They descended to the earth, and revealed what was hidden to the children of men, and seduced the children of men into committing sin, and united themselves with human women, and committed gross acts of immorality with with them, and married some of them, and begot children by them.

In addition to the heavens being their dwelling, the body is considered a tent or dwelling.  The apostle Paul wrote: “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2Co 5:1) Therefore the fallen angels transgressed beyond the limits of their own dwelling, their own bodies, by engaging in intercourse with humans. 

Characteristics of the Nephilim
Those who have seen angels always note how huge they are.  They stand eight or nine feet tall.  Their bodies are immortal.  As Augustine wrote, "Like the gods they have corporeal immortality, and passions like human beings." Aurelius Augustine, The City of God (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1949), Transl. Marcus Dods.

So at some point, some of the angels sinned by leaving their proper domain and had intercourse with human women.  The offspring these women gave birth to were giants called Nephilim.  They took after their fathers genetically in size, strength, and probably in other ways.  We can only imagine what other ways they shared characteristics of their angelic fathers.  Some of those possibilities would include intelligence, emotional characteristics, and physiological ones that would include paranormal abilities.  This would mean they would have a superior intelligence and ability to do things that humans could not do – supernatural acts.  They were basically a superhuman race.  This extraordinary character and prowess accounts for how they became mighty men, men of renown.  But the Nephilim were also known for their extreme wickedness.  They were the evil villains that Noah reproved during his lifetime.

Noah alone had preserved a godly pedigree, and kept it from corruption from the fallen angelic beings.  He kept his family pure and undefiled by all of the evil that prevailed on the earth at that time.  His bloodline remained free of genetic contamination. -- The Gospel Truth Magazine, Vol. 18, (June 1978), No. 7.

Descendants of the Nephilim
One of the questions raised by this study is whether any descendants of the Nephilim are recorded in Scripture.  We do know that Og, King of Bashan remained of the remnants of the Rephaim (Deut 3:11).  Rephaim is the Hebrew word for giant. Deuteronomy says that his bed was "an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits and its width four cubits by ordinary cubit." (Deut 3:11).  That means it was 13.5 ft long by 6 ft wide.

Goliath was also a giant.   He was nine feet, six inches tall.  “Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor, which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him.” (1Sa 17:4-7)

The giant descendants of the Nephilim were sometimes treated liked gods, because of their size and abilities.

No survivors of the deluge
As we’ve already seen in this study, the Nephilim were on the earth prior to the flood.  Moses wrote, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward.”  (Gen 6:4)

We also know that God intended through the flood to destroy all living things. He said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me.”  (Gen 6:11).  And God did, in fact, destroy all living creatures on the earth in the flood, except for Noah and his family.  “Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.” (Gen 7:23)

What is truly amazing is that remnants of this race of Nephilim also existed after the flood.  We learn this from the account of the Israelite spies, who reported, “There also we saw the Nephilim,” to which Moses added the parenthetical comment “the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim.”  (Num 13:33).

Since the flood destroyed all living creatures upon the earth, we would expect that the pre-flood Nephilim were wiped off the face of the earth.  So that leaves us to wonder where the Anak (remnants of the Nephilim) came from.  They certainly did not come from Noah’s family or from any living Nephilim survivors of the flood, since there were no survivors.

The only explanation would be that some of the fallen angels once again copulated with female descendants of Noah after the flood, restoring a remnant of this race to the earth.  We could see this as a second eruption of the Nephilim.  If this is true, then it would explain two things.  First, it explains what Moses meant when he wrote, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward…” (Gen 6:4)  In other words, the Nephilim were on the earth in the pre-flood days of Noah, and they were on the earth after the flood, as well!  Secondly, this also explains why the Lord required the Israelites going into the land of Canaan to completely exterminate the Canaanites.  The Lord could not tolerate these wicked people at all.  Their race was corrupted completely.

Linguistic roots of Nephilim and related words
In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, the word Nephilim comes from the root "naphal," meaning "fallen ones." Later “When the Greek Septuagint was made, ‘Nephilim’ was translated as ‘gegenes.’ This word suggests ‘giants’ but actually it has little reference to size or strength. ‘Gegenes’ means ‘earth born.’ The same term was used to describe the mythical ‘Titans’ -- being partly of celestial and partly of terrestrial origin.” -- Unger, Biblical Demonology (Wheaton: Van Kampen Press, 1957), p. 48. 

It’s also interesting to note that the English word nephrology means the study or contemplation of clouds.  It’s a late 19th century word that originates from the Greek word “nephos” meaning “cloud” plus the suffix “-logy.”  If you study the roots of the Greek word nephos, you find that this word “nephos” is used to refer to clouds, such as the fact that Christ will come back in the clouds.  But this word refers to something celestial, or found in the heavens immediately above the earth.   When the angels fell from heaven, the place where God dwells, which was their natural abode, they inhabited the heavenly realms surrounding the earth.

Rephaim
The Rephaim are generally understood to be an offshoot of the Nephilim.  The Hebrews understood that the Rephaim were giants.  For example, Og, King of Bashan was one of the Rephaim.  He was the last survivor of the Rephaites.  “The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, all the region of Argob (concerning all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim.” (Deu 3:13). 

Prior to that he wrote, "Thus we took the land at that time from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon (Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir): all the cities of the plateau and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. (For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits and its width four cubits by ordinary cubit.)” (Deu 3:8-11).  So Og was clearly a giant.  He slept in an iron bed thirteen feet long and six feet wide.

Tempting the angels
We need to be careful not to tempt the angels.  Paul taught that women should wear a covering on her head for the sake of the angels.  The assumption here is that angels could be tempted to lust after their long hair. “Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.”  (1Co 11:10)

 Archeological discoveries

Dolmen at Johfiyeh, Jordan. Photo by Ahmed Telfah

Archeological discoveries of large skeletons have been made around the world.  The male skeletons are eight to ten feet tall.  The women were seven feet tall.  But some are much bigger.  Some of the skeletons have horns and some have extra rows of teeth.  The skulls do not have the same plate structure.  A number of mounds in the American Midwest were excavated beginning around 1850.  Giant skeletons were found there.  In some cases they had double rows of teeth.  In some cases they had six fingers per hand and six toes per foot.  But these have also been found in Europe and the Middle East.  They were known in some cases to be cannibals. 

There are also dolmens located all around the world, which are massive stones arranged like a table, which could have been the tombs of these giants.

Origin of evil spirits

According to Enoch, the seventh from Adam, whom Jude quoted in his inspired epistle, the Watchers, who were angels that had been assigned to watch over the earth, sinned against the Word of the Lord by uniting themselves with human women. Enoch said the giants were the sons born to the women who were impregnated by those fallen angels.  Enoch also said that evil spirits are the spirits from the deceased giants. Enoch wrote extensively about this, but I will quote a couple short passages that specifically speak about the evil spirits:

“And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon 9 the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; 10 they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. [As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling.] And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless 12 hunger and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them. – Book of Enoch, 15:8-12

This next excerpt from Enoch says that after the destruction and death of the giants, their disembodied spirits will go forth on the earth to destroy, just as satan comes to destroy: 

“From the days of the slaughter and destruction and death of the giants, from the souls of whose flesh the spirits, having gone forth, shall destroy without incurring judgment - thus shall they destroy until the day of the consummation, the great judgment in which the age shall be 2 consummated, over the Watchers and the godless, yea, shall be wholly consummated." - Book of Enoch, 16:1-2.  Their destructive activity will continue until God’s wrath on evil is consummated on earth at the great judgment. Our Lord Jesus often cast out evil spirits, who had been afflicting people, which further confirms this (Mat 12:43; Mar 1:23; Mar 1:26; Mar 3:30; Mar 5:2; Mar 5:8; Mar 7:25; Mar 9:25; Luk 8:29; Luk 9:42; Luk 11:24; Rev 18:2).  He called them unclean spirits, and in Acts they are also referred to as evil spirits (Acts 19:15-16).  We also see the destructive activity of evil spirits in the Old Testament, as in the case of King Saul (Jdg 9:23; 1Sa 16:14-16, 23; 18:10; 19:9).

Although the Book of Enoch is not considered part of the canon of Scripture, Enoch was quoted by Jude in his epistle, which is the Word of God.  So in this article, I have also quoted from Enoch.  From him we learn that not only demons are called evil spirits, but also the spirits of these deceased human offspring, who were once born from the union of demons with human women.

Putting it all together
In this study, we’ve learned that the Nephilim were on the earth before and after the flood, and that they were the offspring produced by sexual union between angels and female human beings.  These hybrid beings possessed superhuman characteristics like great strength and intelligence, as well as a terrible propensity for evil.  It was because of this evil corruption of the human race that God decided to destroy the earth with a flood.  Only Noah and his family remained pure (both spiritually and genetically), and survived in the ark to repopulate the earth.

It is clear that since no one except Noah’s family survived the flood, and since remnants of the Nephilim existed after the flood, that the human race must have been infected once again by the same kind of sexual union with fallen angels.  This explains why God commanded that the Jews completely exterminate the Canaanites living in the land. 

There are many archeological discoveries that provide evidence of the existence of the Nephilim and their descendants, also known as Rephaim in Hebrew.  These include giant skeletons with anomalies like six fingers and toes, as well as abnormal skull bone structures.  There are also many architectural structures that have been discovered, such as Stonehenge, which can only be explained by the existence of giants.

This gives us a clearer understanding of history.  Some may baulk at the idea of angels impregnating human women.  But this was the way the Jews understood it when they read the Scriptures.  And if we believe that the incarnation of Jesus Christ occurred through the Holy Spirit overshadowing the virgin, Mary, then why should it be so hard to believe an evil incarnation of darkness could also occur?

This did in fact occur, and the implications are significant.  Evil spirits are not only demons (fallen angels), but also the disembodied spirits of the giants, and they continue their destructive work on earth until God’s judgment is finally consummated.  Could one of their destructive works be that of corrupting the human genetic code through continued seduction and sexual union with women?  There are prophetic disciples of Christ, who testify that the Lord has revealed to them that this is in fact happening today.  They state that it is extremely widespread around the world.

Jesus said that in the days before His return, the world would be like it was in the days of Noah.  To what extent will it be like those days? Are we seeing evidence of this infection of the human race today?  We know that the world is becoming much more evil each decade, and to what extent is that connected with this issue of the Nephilim? 

One thing is for sure: the days are evil and disciples of Christ are called to be salt and light in this world.  Just as the Israelites were commanded to go up and take the country, we are to make disciples.  We can surely be victorious in our mission with the Lord’s help and through faith in Him.  It was always by faith that the Israelites conquered their enemies, including the giants like Goliath.  And the victory of God’s people today will continue to be through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Jesus said that anyone who has faith in Him would do greater works than He did. He cast out evil spirits and demons, and so can we (Mar 3:15; Luk 4:36).  He gave us authority over all demons (Luk 9:1). Now more than ever we need to trust Him and pray as He taught us, “Deliver us from evil!” and “Deliver us from the evil one!”

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's Note: You may also want to see my other blogs, Demons Disguised as Humans,  Demonology 101, Demonology 201, Demonology 301and Oral Account of Creation from Adam to Abraham. I invite you to visit the Home page for this blog, and you can also find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

References
Enoch Chapters 6-12 and 64. And the judgment on the fallen Watchers is explained in Chapter 13-21.

Transcript of Interview with Klaus Dona

Interview with Klaus Dona

Giant skulls

Skull with horns 

Discovery channel documentary 

Internet article about sons of God and daughters of men

Wikipedia Article about dolmens, which are stone tables, probably tombs of the giants

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Demonology 201

I am reposting this sermon by brother Yong-Doo Kim, pastor of the Lord's Church in South Korea, because I have benefited greatly from his ministry, and he has years of experience battling demons.  This pastor has been to heaven and hell many times, and has authored five books about his experiences in the series called Baptized by Blazing Fire.  So I think he qualifies as a sort of "subject matter expert" on this topic, or someone with firsthand knowledge, who is not simply an echo for the ideas of other men.

Message on demons, given in 2012 by brother Yong Doo Kim:

I was just organizing some things that happened in the meeting today.  I was lying on my bed and I was just thinking and God showed me a vision of the spirits that are in control of this region.

It was like something bigger than the whole earth and it was controlling this region.  And it looked like some kind of snake with eyes and nose and teeth and the teeth were like dracula’s teeth and he had a lot of hair on his body.  We didn’t meet each other, so we are just looking at each other, ignoring each other and it looked like it was bigger than a dragon.  And we were looking at each other and then I saw it start flying.  And this spirit it was giving, (inserting) thoughts into the people in this area.

And it was giving thoughts to the people so that they can just act however they want.  And when these people were effected by these thoughts in their hearts and minds they just started kind of acting up.

They were drinking, eating and doing whatever they want.  I was looking at it and it started coming to me and it attacked my right side.  And then I screamed and I kind of fell and my right side shoulder was really attacked.  It’s kind of aching a lot even my lower back too.  Every place I go I experience similar things.

Today I want to talk to you about the attacks of the evil spirits.  Before we do that we are going to worship.  No matter how much the devil attacks us we need to be faithful.  We may look weak on the outside, but we have to be strong on the inside.  We are physically tiring but our inner side is filled with God.

It’s ok to lose to our fake enemy.  The fake enemy is the people and the things we see but the real enemy we can not see.  It’s ok to be slapped and to be mistreated by the fake enemy.  But with the real enemy we need to fight and to overcome it!  So God and the devil, they move in the same passage way.  But there is a difference in how they operate.

Its a little different, the world of satan moves through confusion and disorder and disorientation. But God works through order, perfection and harmony.  So through the actions of the other people you need to see and know if they are operating through God or through the devil.

God is testing us through different ways.  You know when you go to a factory that manufactures steel, they do a lot of testing.  They do a lot of testing on heat, they also test steel on how it does under very cold weather.  Sometimes they compress the steel really a lot and see how much it can endure.  Sometimes they put it in the fire and see how long it can stretch.  And depending on how much it can stretch and endure the pressure, it determines the use of the steel.

Sometimes the steal is used for the towers, or the cars and body of the car.  And the most strongest steel, they use it for making bridges.  In the same way, God deals with us.  And for people with strong faith, you know they use us fight the demons.

That is why it says, the strong man guards his house but a stronger man comes and takes those possessions.  So a stronger man, which is Jesus and the Holy Spirit come and overcome the strong man and take care of the possessions.

And when the Lord He gives us this kind of ministry, some people they don’t like it.

People are very self-centered and have their own perspective and the Lord wants to change that.  And the people who are mature in faith they need to be able to understand people with beginning faith.  You know babies are little children that tell everything to their parents but parents a lot of times, they don’t share everything with their children about what is going on.

The devil he really messes up the expansion of God’s kingdom.  And he tries to mess up the order by sending spies and all these forces.  And the devil knows who to attack in order to be the most efficient.  And he knows the fastest way to destroy the people of God through who to attack.

The devil does not attack just ordinary churches.  He does not touch people who are both in the world and in the kingdom of God.  Because they are heading off to destruction so he just lets them be.  And he uses people who are disobedient to God’s word.

There’s something that the devil hates.  It is that they are set free from their bondage’s and they become the people of God.  And people who don’t pray, when they try to pray there are tests.  And you and I are being watched 24 hours a day.  When the evil spirits leave us, they don’t just leave.  And then the devil never just gives up his prisoners easily.  And then when we impart the fire to you, in some people the spirits are not exposed.

And then people you know they point fingers and they say look at the person they have a lot of demons but they don’t realize that they have demons inside of them as well.  And pastors and some people they stop people from doing this kind of ministry.

There are many famous actresses in Korea that commit suicide. And when they commit suicide when I am in hell I actually see them being tormented.

And this person she was a Christian and she went to this church and she also received counseling from a pastor before she committed suicide. When you strike the wall you feel the vibrations and he knows who to strike in the church so that others will be shaken.

And then the devil raises up sports figures, politicians or entertainers and when they become really famous, he uses them.  And then sometimes when very famous people they commit suicide, a lot of their followers and fans they commit suicide together, and they follow after them.  And he makes them follow after them so that they can go to hell.  And when my eyes were opened I began to experience this.

I was praying with the music really loud and when your eyes are really opened you don’t hear the music, and then we turn off all the lights and we kneel down and that’s how we pray.  We turn off all the lights because when the Lord appears it is easier for us to see Him clearly, and it is also so that we can focus better.  Then we will raise our hands as long as we can, and we pray in tongues.

I was praying in tongues and I was being sucked into a really really big tunnel, I just went deeper into the tunnel.  And I was being sucked into that black hole kind of thing, I could not feel the weight of my body, and I could not tell if I am in the body or outside the body.

And I understand why Paul described it like that.  And then as you go into the tunnel it is so scary.  And you can not see anything you are by yourself and your going into it.  When I touch my body, I’m in the physical body in the church, but my spirit is being sucked into this tunnel, and even if I try to open my eyes I can’t.  I just keep praying in tongues.  And then after a while you start spinning, and then the darkness starts to spin around me.

It’s like a tornado and black hole and I just keep spinning.  And I try to wake up but I will be just spinning and spinning.  You know, my physical body cannot take it and because of the sins in my body I just keep on calling out, LORD, LORD!  I have experienced that for days and actually months.  Sometimes you become so scared and you ask the Lord to help you and I’ll be back in my body.

And then one day at 3:30 AM with my youth after our service we went to have some sea food.  And I decided to pray more and I came back.  And when I pray I will be sucked into that again.  And then because I have a very full stomach, I will be spinning in darkness.  And then my body will be in the physical realm but then my spirit will be spinning and driving me crazy.  And if you are spun around by a centrifugal force the things inside of you will come out.

And I had this spicy seafood with all this like vegetables and I started spinning and it was trying to come out.  And then I try to wake up, but I am still spinning.  And I opened my eyes and I was still spinning.  And then I went to the bathroom, I crawled, and then I just threw everything up.

And as I was praying I got really scared so I called my daughter, but my daughter said, “What’s going on?  I’m sleeping.”  I replied, “Oh it’s so scary here, please come to me.”  My daughter was saying that you have to go through that to have your eyes opened, you have to go through that.

And I said, “I’m a Pastor, that’s why I have to go through all these scary places.”  And then my daughter said, I already went through that.  And then I thought that since I am a pastor that everything would be more serious and more difficult for me.  I have a lot of fears.  And then when I pray, God will keep on taking me to those places.

And then you know, even if we pray that God will open our eyes, actually when He starts to take you to those places, you’ll be so scared that you don’t want to go.  And even though you say, Lord I want to experience hell, if He really tries to take you, then even if you go near it you will be just like, oh no, I can’t go there.  And then our hypocrisy and our double mindedness is exposed.

Then you realize how weak your faith is.  And you feel like you can do all these things for the Lord, but then at the most crucial moment you collapse.  And then the Lord wants to show us but at the most critical moment we back out.  And that’s the same for most people.

And then having your eyes opened is so frightening.  And as I pray the Lord will take me again.  And then I wish I could only see good things, but He makes me go through all these scary places.

You know it would be great for me if all the members and my eyes are opened at the same time but my eyes they open when they leave and I am praying by myself and there’s nobody to help me.  Whoever the people are there, they sleep in the pews.  And when I was praying, the Lord took me to a more scarier place and I was calling on my wife, "Honey, Honey come by my side and help me."

My wife woke up and she was very groggy, and she woke up and she said, “Do whatever you can, I don’t care if you go to hell or not.”  And then after the prayer, my daughter rebuked me.  She said, “Awe you’re a pastor and you can’t even go through that?”  And I held her hands and said, “You know it’s so scary there.” And my daughter said, “Hmm..your a pastor, and you don’t have faith.”

And I told my son, “Joseph, you know um, because I am a pastor, you know the Lord takes me to very scary places.”  And my son said, “I already went through all those places. What are you talking about?” You know, my children they mistreat me, because at the most critical moment, you know, I fall back.

And later my eyes began to open and it was so scary.  And as you pray there will come a moment where you will not hear the music or the people around you.  And as you pray in tongues you feel the presence of God from top to bottom.  And then the part that you feel the presence of God, you do not feel the weight of your body.  You know it’s like the people we live below the earths atmosphere you don’t feel the gravity, it’s in the same way.

Sometimes my arms open and I fly to heaven.  Sometimes when I pray an angel will come and clothe me with a robe.  Sometimes a demon will come and (?).  Sometimes he will come in the form of a snake and he will coil around me.  And as we pray sometimes God sends His angels to take us.

Sometimes the Lord will come and take us to heaven and sometimes the devil will disguise himself as Jesus an he will try to take us to heaven because we like it but he ends up taking us to hell.  But these experiences there’s so many of them, this is just like a grain of sand in the sea.

My first books are about the process of how our spiritual eyes were opened.  And the third one is about the secret chamber.  Also in the following books it shows you how the king cobras are in the liquor and how they will enter peoples bodies.  And also the fourth book is about the spiritual gifts like store houses in heaven, and me and my son we went  to those places and we wrote about them.

And we have seen those images from Revelations of 7 plates (bowls), and 7 trumpets.  And the fifth book is about the prayers that have been answered.  And then I could not finish the 6th book but it’s almost finished and it will be published.

And then the 6th book is about me and my son going to the secret chambers and the last chamber, there’s weapons we can use to fight against the devil, and there’s so many rooms there and chambers, and we have to pray many days to be there.

And then one day at 4:30 after prayer I was just sitting and resting and lucifer came.  And there are scenes where he stabs me with his fingernails and he stabs my intestines.

And then I had the sword of the blood of Jesus on my side and when I started to reach for it, he stabbed me.  And the Lord was near me and lucifer was in front of my face and he stabbed me with his fingernails and said, “I’m going to kill you.”

Then he actually left and came back and he wanted to kill me again.  And this is the part where He baptized me with fire and He takes me up to the universe and He baptizes me.  There is a scene where He clothes me with fire and He throws me out to the universe.  And also Jesus comes and He puts fire around me and he throws me to another universe.

There’s a part where the Holy Spirit comes out of the trinity and baptizes me with fire.  Also there’s a part where Father, Son and Holy Spirit they come together and baptizes me.  And then the next ones going to be the spiritual warfare around the world.

God has given me a unique calling to expose the identity of the devil, and how people go to hell.

There is nothing in the word that says you will go to hell if you don’t keep the Sabbath holy.  It doesn’t say that if you don’t tithe you will go to hell.  But the Bible we need to look at it, there is a lot of paradox’s in it.

In Mal. 3:10 it says that a lot of people did not keep the tithe, so test me with the tithe, but it does not mean to test God with the tithe.  It is because the Israelites did not tithe well and the Lord wanted them to really tithe and not to test Him with the tithe.  And that is why He said, “Test me with the tithe.”

People who are blessed are not those who just tithe, but on top of that they give more.  The tithe belongs to the Lord, it is not (for us) to be blessed, but it is the Lords.  And the blessings come through the offerings that’s on top of tithe.

And also in our world there is a tree of good and evil.  The tree of good and evil is if you touch and eat it you will die.  Tithing is like financial tree of good and evil.  And if you touch the tithe it means you must be prepared to pay the consequences.

There’s a tree of good and evil between human relations, and if you have adultery and have an affair that is like touching the tree of good and evil.  It means if you touch others besides your husband or wife, you are touching the tree of good and evil.

And then when I went to heaven and met the Lord I realized that sometimes people commit adultery they could not repent.  Not that you cannot repent of the sin, but that many people they don’t think about the seriousness of the sin.  In the Old Testament they will actually stone you to death or you have to sacrifice animals.

In the Old Testament it talks about the physical atonement but in the New Testament, the Lord says that if you commit adultery in your heart you have already sinned.  I also visited a place in hell, it was a place where a lot of people that commit adultery went.

There were a lot of men and women who were naked. There was a huge like a frying pan, and it was like a size of a (?) (possibly foot ball field?).  There was like a fire beneath it and there were all these naked people who were on the pan.  And just like you would fry fish, all these people were packed in there.

And I said, “Lord, who are these people?” And He said, “These are the people who commit adultery, and people who had abortion who did their own will.”  And there was this long stick, really huge like 6 feet tall.  And then there were all these huge demons around the pan and they were piercing the center of the men and women’s bodies.

And they pierced them with some kind of needle stick and the people would scream and they would run.  When they pierced them they would be in so much pain and when they took it out they would be back to normal.  And they kept on doing this over and over.

And there were also doctors who participated in the abortions.  And there were also people who sponsors who went with it.  And there were parents who overlooked the unwanted pregnancy and they erased the baby.  There were a lot of people who didn’t want to have the baby so they had the abortion.  And then they were full of people like that.  And then there are so many places like that in hell.

There is also a place in hell where people are who sinned with their mouth.  And people who sinned with their tongue and with their words they will put needles on them and they will cut them with a knife.

And every night that I prayed, the Lord would make me visit those places.  And when he leaves me there, He disappears.  And then I’ll be dragged away just like the other people there (this happened to others like this also), and I will be tormented.

And then in my church I will pray on my platform and then I will collapse, and then he would put like a black veil over my face and he would drag me.  And then in hell there is also a human eating competition.

The Lord has allowed the demons to operate in our world and in hell.  And hell is prepared for the fallen angels and the devil.  Christians who didn’t believe right they end up there.  In the Bible it talks about those people who couldn’t go to heaven.

We need to be aware of how the demons operate.  We will look at the passage that talks about the identity of the devil.  Jude 1:6,7, so they abandoned their own home, and they are bound kept in darkness bound with everlasting chains reserved for judgment on the great day.

Isaiah 14:12  And then people ask me where’s heaven or hell, look at verse 12 where it says: how you have fallen from heaven and it talks about the north.  And sometimes when people experience this there will be two angels that will come and take them to like a passage way like a couple of feet wide and it will be endlessly made out of gold.   In Ezekiel it talks about how the devil was.

This is very important; I want to share with you.  Ezekiel 28:  It talks about how the devil was before he fell.  It says he was made and created and he was perfect.  He was anointed cherub, and he walked in the mount of God, and he was perfect when he was created.

And then because of this (?) (Widespread trade?), he was filled with violence.  And it means a lot of angels followed him.  And it says you guardian cherub, and then his heart became proud and he corrupted his wisdom because of his splendor.  He was perfect in beauty and it talks about spiritual beings that are higher than humans.

You know these were like almost perfect next to God.  In Isaiah what we looked at before it talks about the bright morning star.  And in King James it says O you son of morning lucifer, how you have fallen from heaven.  The Latin origin of the meaning is Lucifer.

In Rev. 12:17 it says, there was a war in the heavenlies and they fought against the dragon and he couldn’t win so he was actually cast on the earth.  It’s a huge dragon and old serpent and it’s the devil, and it’s satan and he deceives the whole world.

He was cast down to earth and his followers came with him.  He was upset and his time was not there but he was cast out.  Don’t think that the devil is far away, and then he will scream and he will jump at you (pastor Kim screams), what I am screaming is nothing compared to him, its maybe like a thousand times of what I screamed.

Rev. 12:3 It’s a red dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns, and it swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth.  And then the one third represents the fallen angels.  Some people interpret differently.

I want to talk to you a little bit more about the identity of the devil.  Satan has a position, his title was that he was the guardian cherub.  And he’s like anointed cherub which means he guards the guardian angles for God.  And they are like one of the strongest of the angels.  And satan he was part of that.

You know Gabriel and Michael they are the same.  And there are the group of people who proclaim the glory of God, and there are a lot of those arch angels in heaven.  And then it shows the kingdom of God a long time ago.  And because he was so perfect and beautiful, he had pride in his heart.

And then his wide spread trade means that through his words he deceived many of his fellow angels.  He wanted to be an independent ruler besides God.  And in Isaiah it says I will go up to the throne of heaven, and it means he’s going to rule over the angels just like God.

The angels have their own free will and they were corrupt in their heart and they were kicked out of heaven.  He abused the power that God has given him, and he begins to turn the world upside down.  He trembles the earth.  He does not release the captive.  And the demons they will not let you go until there is a strong power upon you.

And then satan has this position and power.  In Rev. 8:4 it says he was a murderer and a liar from the beginning, and in 1 John, he continually lies, he deceives nations, he causes us to sin.  And then the devil means, it means accuser, accuser of the brethren, and that he has a very dirty mouth.

Another definition is that he scatters seeds, another expression is that he throws the dice. You know I believe that you will be saved and go to heaven.  Do you truly believe that?  It means that the devil will throw the dice at you: Maybe you will go to heaven, he says really, I can mess it up.  What if you don’t have assurance of salvation, I’m going to make you fall back at the trials and the tests.

He makes our salvation dull.  Another meaning is like a furnace, in other words, he corrupts the people.  And the devil and satan is the same word but satan has some other meanings.  King of the devil, attacker, he hides , he’s a dissenter, he traps people, he deceives the whole world, he makes you get lost, he makes you wonder, deceiver, he insists his own will, and it means that when you exert your will too much, that the devil can be involved.

There’s a red dragon that we saw in Rev. 12 the big dragon that was the devil and the other one it talked about was the arch angel.  And then we read through the descriptions about the devil.  It has some words more important.  Isaiah 27 it talks about: and in that day God is going to punish Leviathan, it means like coiling serpent, coiling enemy.

I am telling you the Hebrew origin of the word, it’s huge like serpent.  Huge monster of the sea.  Violent foe, serpent, devil, somebody who accuses who is possessive, who imitates and has those meanings, and coiling means like he twists corrupts, the serpent in Hebrew it means (?), it means the dragon in the north of the sky.  And it means you do sorcery and you do tarot cards, you predict the future, you prophecy, fortune telling.  Satan was created long time ago before us.  He does not have a physical form that we can see.

The media has a great impact on us.  And eve she was deceived in the garden of Eden by the devil but if she was Korean woman she would not have been deceived by the snake.  If Adam and Eve were Koreans they probably would have grabbed the snake and cooked it in a soup, snake soup.

You know, we Koreans will eat anything that makes you healthy.  How unfortunate that they were not Koreans.  Then we would not be suffering like this. (Interpreter-I don’t eat snakes, I don’t), he does.

I want to talk about how the devil approaches us.  Galatians 5:6 It tells about the life of the spirit and the flesh.  This is very important so please pay attention.  Evil spirits they live on energy.  The energy comes from the flesh, sometimes we supply the energy.

People with the spirit of anger, he’s the one that supplies that spirit.  And people with the spirit of anger, he will start asking the body, he’s hungry, he will be like, feed me, feed me I’m hungry.

And the food they eat is when you get angry and you explode your anger, they eat it.  And when they make you get angry and you blow up they are full.  And then the spirit will go into deep hiding, and it does not need to be fed for a while.  And they will go into like hibernating in their body, and they will start eating away your soul, our thoughts, our hearts, and then it makes you do things you don’t expect yourself to do.  It’s the same with other spirits.

And people with the spirit of lust, and then they attack us periodically.  It would be like, I’m hungry feed me, what is the food they like?  It is the lustful thoughts.  Lustful thoughts and what’s in your heart and you decide to move to action.  And then they are fed and they are full and then they go into hiding.  And they will go into hiding for a time.  And you don’t think about that for a while.  And just because you don’t feel their activity does not mean the have left.  And these spirits when we do the things that they like, they feed on them.

They make you do all those things they like and they are being fed.  Same with the spirit of anger, gossip and dissension.  He makes us the flesh to do that.  It is us who supply energy to those spirits.  As we talk about lustful things we enjoy it and we think it is us but it is the devil, he is doing that.

So it is us that is making those spirits full.  Our body is just the cover of it, we are being used by them.  Same with venting on other people and then showing off and being prideful, its the same way.  Same thing as gossiping.  We supply these demons with food and energy that they need.

What is the solution for this?  It is to change the habits that they like.  And it is determining in your heart that you will not do those things, then praying about it.  And then now there is a war.  And then the spirits inside they will go crazy and they will ask for food.

Give me some anger I’m hungry, have some lustful thoughts, I want to eat some lust, do some pleasures, fill me with worries, worry a little.  I need some frustrations.  Why don’t you try to pick a fight.  Also there is a spirit of exhaustion, and they really stir our body.  So when we get angry and do those kind of things they are full and they go into hiding.

And when we impart fire, because they know they will be exposed they will go into deeper hiding.  And you need to receive more fire deeper and they’ll be cast out.  And just because you don’t feel anything or sense their activities inside you shouldn’t be putting down your guard.  And when they continually try to stir us up we have to fight against it.  When you have those kind of thoughts and temptations you have to pray hard.  Pray more diligently.  I’m not done yet.

The demons have their ranks.  And in Ephesians 6 it talks about that.  There are about two different kinds of titles.  In my 6th book I talk about the ranks as much as I know.  Satan and the devil they are one and they don’t have rank.  And after satan there are like thousands and thousands of ranks.  Largely I divided them into about 7 or 8 ranks.

And when I try to expose his identity I get attacked.  And when we began this ministry the Lord made us fight against the small demons.

And when we overcome them, He made us fight the bigger demons.  And then the demons with higher ranks they came.  I didn’t know that they had ranks.  It took a long time.  No one told us, we didn’t read anything about this.

One type of rank that they have is like the army.

In the army there is like different titles and positions.  They are like titles, sort of like topical.  Another thing is by numbers.  An the numbers is in levels.  An the demons in the level are more stronger than the ones with the titles.  Like if you are a level 30 you can be so much higher than the other title.

An the demons with this kind of levels they are the strongest.  An even the demons have a structure and system.  An they have great strategies and plans.  They also have a promotion system.

The requirement for promotion is for them to hide in Christians and not be found as long as they can.  Imagine this demon went into this person and he lived this very passive Christian life, and then he prays very passively, and we are not even sure if he is saved or not, and he has never really had a great walk with God.

He says the Bible a lot but he does not have the power of the Holy Spirit. In appearance he is Christian, but inside the devil has a hold on him.  An these people when they come at a critical moment they fall.

God’s word is like a boomerang an it spins and then comes back.  And even if you read the word and you don’t keep it, it will go out and then come back and it will strike you.

An that’s why if we don’t live according to His word we will be judged.  Are you guys bored?  Should we wrap it up for the day?  You don’t seem too excited.  It’ll be very difficult to hear these kind of things any other place.  I’m not boasting but this is spiritual reality.

There is like how the demons are promoted.  And there was no chance to really expose the demon that was in him and he is full of demons.  But he does not know that he has a demon, but he lives his Christian life.  He prays a lot but his prayers are being perceived by the devil and he does not live a victorious Christian life.

Then later he marries and he has children.  And this spirit that works with other spirits will actually be transferred to the children.  The demons that was effecting the parents can effect the children.  And then the devil goes, good job, good job, you were not exposed, so I will give you a promotion.

And they meet the requirement when they take hold of living Christians and they are not being exposed. And when you live a very victorious Christian life they try to live with prayer then they are exposed. (The rest of the audio has too much echo to hear it properly so I am leaving it off.)

[end of message by Kim Yong-Doo, author of Baptize by Blazing Fire]

Author's Note: You may also want to see my other blogs, Demonology 201 and Demonology 301. I invite you to visit the Home page for this blog, and you can also find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."                     

  _________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

What About Conspiracies?

I have heard people many times ridicule or criticize those who believe in conspiracies. They label them as conspiracy theorists. Believing in conspiracies is not fashionable. It’s considered foolish, narrow-minded and ignorant. I agree that not everything is a conspiracy and we need to verify our facts before we start claiming that something is a conspiracy. Those who think everything is a conspiracy can border on being a bit paranoid.

And many times, the actual conspiracies are so complex, and the diabolical plans so cloaked in darkness, that they are only seen or understood in part. This is why the theories that seek to explain the conspiracies are themselves sometimes merely partial truths at best.

With that said, the Bible has much to say about conspiracies, so we should try to understand what it says and align ourselves with God’s Word.

Conspiracy Against Jesus Christ
The most famous conspiracy of all time is the one against God’s Son, Jesus Christ. King David foretold it prophetically when he wrote: “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" (Psa 2:1-3). When rulers counsel together against someone, that’s a conspiracy. In this case, rulers counseled together against the Lord and His Anointed Son Jesus.

We can be certain that this passage refers to Jesus, because it is confirmed in the New Testament. Peter and John had been arrested for healing lame man who was more than 40 years old. Here’s the passage:

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.'”

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Act 4:23-31).

So the first apostles and the church of their day understood that this psalm of David referred to the conspiracy against Jesus Christ by the religious leaders in Jerusalem. They said the rulers met “to conspire against your holy servant Jesus.” And the same rulers who had conspired against Jesus were conspiring against the apostles. God confirmed their prayer by shaking the placed where they were gathered and filling them with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Himself predicted this conspiracy saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. "They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again."
(Mar 10:33-34).

Later on it happened just like Jesus said it would. There was a conspiracy among the Herodians and Pharisees to destroy Jesus. “The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.” (Mar 3:6). After Jesus cleansed the temple, he said that His Father’s house would be a house a prayer. “The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.” (Mar 11:18). “So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.” (Joh 11:53)

“When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.” (Luk 11:53-54)

In fact, He told a parable about a man who planted a vineyard. The man sent one slave after another to collect some of the fruit, but the vine growers beat each of them shamefully. In the end, they even beat and killed the son of the man who planted the vineyard. Jesus concluded by declaring that He Himself was the Stone the builders rejected. “And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.” (Mar 12:12-13)

Jesus spoke openly to the conspirators about their plot to kill Him. "But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.” (Joh 8:40).

Should We Be Naïve and Throw Caution to the Wind?
Once the conspiracy to kill Him had begun, He was cautious to stay away from the places where Jews were seeking to kill Him. “After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.” (Joh 7:1). While He was never afraid, He did use wisdom and kept Himself out of harms way until the time came for Him to be crucified.

He predicted that the apostles and prophets He would send after Him would also be persecuted as well. “For this reason also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute.’” (Luk 11:49).

"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.” (Luk 21:12). "But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name.” (Luk 21:16-17)

And knowing that this would happen, Jesus taught His disciples how to handle persecution. "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves.”
(Luk 21:14). So we are not to defend ourselves.

But just as Jesus was cautious to stay away from cities where there were obvious threats against His life, He advised His disciples to do the same. "But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next.” (Mat 10:23).

Should We Be Paranoid?
People are considered paranoid who go through life peering through the curtains or looking over their shoulder, always afraid that someone is going to kill them. Usually these people are plagued by an irrational fear of something that does not exist.

There are some people who are always calling everything a conspiracy. Is that how we should act? The Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah saying, "You are not to say, 'It is a conspiracy!' In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.”(Isa 8:12). Not everything that people say is a conspiracy is really a conspiracy.

But even if there is a legitimate threat to our lives, Jesus taught us not to fear the ones who threaten us. "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mat 10:28). Ultimately those who conspire evil plots can only kill the body. They cannot destroy body and soul. Only God can do this.

Jesus was not paranoid. As I already said, He used wisdom and stayed clear of the Judean region where they were plotting to kill Him. And God protected Him. But when the time came for Him to be crucified, He headed resolutely for Jerusalem, the heart of that dangerous place. “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luk 9:51, KJV)

And on the night He was betrayed, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray as usual. He did not hide in a secret place, but went to the same spot He usually went to. And when His betrayer came to turn Him over to those who plotted to take His life, He didn’t run. Instead He said, “Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. "Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!" (Mat 26:45-46)

He did not try to escape. His disciples were prepared to defend Him with deadly force, but He refused to allow it. He could have called upon a legion of angels and the Father would have sent them to rescue Him, but He gave up that right. Instead he recognized that the time had come for his betrayal and He willingly accepted it. (Mat 26:52-56).

Like I mentioned, this conspiracy against Jesus is the most famous one of all time. Yet there are many others recorded in Scripture.

The Conspiracy Against the Apostle Paul
Just as Jesus predicted, His apostles were persecuted, too. There were conspiracies to take their lives. This happened to the apostle Paul. “While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.” (Act 21:31)

“And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were urging [Festus], requesting a concession against Paul, that he might have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, setting an ambush to kill him on the way).” (Act 25:2-3).

People even tried to warn Paul not to go to Jerusalem where these threats awaited him. And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (Act 21:11-13).

This was no surprise to Paul. The Lord had already been telling Paul that these things were going to happen. "And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.” (Act 20:22-24). He was determined to fearlessly march right into the mouth of the lion.

Conspiracy Against Daniel
Most people who have read the Bible are familiar with the conspiracy against the prophet Daniel. “Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, ‘We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.’ Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him…” (Dan 6:4-6).

Conspiracy Against the Jews
In the Book of Esther, we find the plot to annihilate the Jews. "Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot, which he had devised against the Jews.” (Est 8:3). She dealt very wisely in this situation and God averted the disaster to save His people.

Conspiracy Against Rulers
There are many conspiracies against rulers recorded in Scripture. Time does not allow us to mention each one in detail. But some of the better-known ones include the conspiracy against David when his son Absalom usurped the throne (2 Sam 15:12), the conspiracy against King Joash (2 King 12:20), and the conspiracy against King Pekah (2 King 15:30).

Conspiracy Against the Lord God
In fact God revealed to the prophet Jeremiah that there was a conspiracy against the Lord Himself. “Then the LORD said to me, "A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “ (Jer 11:9). In this case, there was a conspiracy among the people to turn back to the iniquities of their ancestors and the people who refused to hear the Word of the Lord. They decided to break their covenant with God and go after other gods.

Post Biblical Conspiracies
Of course, many, well-known conspiracies have happened since the first century, and these are well documented. Many of these are recorded in Fox’s Book of Martyrs. There were the ten primitive ones against Christians under the Roman Caesars, Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and Severus.

In the fourth century, there was a great conspiracy against Christians in Persia that began under the emperor Sapores. According to John Fox, “George, the Arian bishop of Alexandria, under the authority of the emperor, began a persecution in that city and its environs, and carried it on with the most infernal severity. He was assisted in his diabolical malice by Catophonius, governor of Egypt; Sebastian, general of the Egyptian forces; Faustinus, the treasurer; and Heraclius, a Roman officer.” He goes on to write: “If a man, accused of being a Christian, made his escape, then his whole family were massacred, and his effects confiscated.”

Then there was the conspiracy under Julian the Apostate. Many people suffered from this conspiracy. Persecutions continued from the early part of the eighth, to near the conclusion of the tenth century. This was followed by the Papal conspiracies. Fox states that it was “a period when persecution, under the guise of Christianity, committed more enormities than ever disgraced the annals of paganism. Disregarding the maxims and the spirit of the Gospel, the papal Church, arming herself with the power of the sword, vexed the Church of God and wasted it for several centuries, a period most appropriately termed in history, the ‘dark ages.’”

We learn from Fox that “In the twelfth century, the first persecutions under the papacy began in Italy.” These were followed by the inquisitions of the thirteenth century. According to Fox, “Courts of Inquisition were now erected in several countries; but the Spanish Inquisition became the most powerful, and the most dreaded of any. Even the kings of Spain themselves, though arbitrary in all other respects, were taught to dread the power of the lords of the Inquisition; and the horrid cruelties they exercised compelled multitudes, who differed in opinion from the Roman Catholics, carefully to conceal their sentiments.”

Following the persecution of Martin Luther in the sixteenth century, the pope was so enraged at the reformer’s success that he conspired with the emperor of Germany against all Protestants. According to Fox, “The emperor undertook the extirpation of the Protestants, against whom, indeed, he was particularly enraged himself; and, for this purpose, a formidable army was raised in Germany, Spain, and Italy.” This was a very successful conspiracy. In fact, in the year 1732, over 30,000 Protestants were driven from Salzburg by the campaign. This conspiracy even spread to the Netherlands.

This conspiracy spread even to Great Britain and Ireland prior to the reign of Queen Mary I. Fox recounts: “For, in the said parliament, the king made this most blasphemous and cruel act, to be a law forever: that whatsoever they were that should read the Scriptures in the mother-tongue (which was then called ‘Wickliffe's learning’), they should forfeit land, cattle, body, life, and goods, from their heirs for ever, and so be condemned for heretics to God, enemies to the crown, and most arrant traitors to the land.” There were also terrible persecutions in Scotland during the reign of King Henry VIII. This continued in England during the reign of Queen Mary.

And we are all familiar with the conspiracy against Jews under the Nazi regime of Germany in the twentieth century, as well as the conspiracy again Christians and Jews during the communist era of the twentieth century in Eastern Europe, Russia, and China. In fact, the conspiracy against Christians continues to this day in places like China, India, Algeria, Uzbekistan, and North Korea.

Conspiracy of the Final World Ruler
A simple reading of the only prophetic book of the New Testament, the Apocalypse shows that the final world ruler will organize a conspiracy against the people of God. “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.” (Rev 13:5-7).

He will make war against the saints and overcome them. He will deceive the masses, he will perform signs and wonders, and he will demand worship from everyone. He will also make laws and establish an economic system that makes it possible to kill those who don’t conform to his system. “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.” (Rev 13:16-17)

Putting it All Together
Let’s face it – the Bible is full of examples of conspiracies. It’s quite obvious from the Bible that there have been conspiracies for thousands of years, and that they will continue until the end. We know that not everything people call a conspiracy is really a conspiracy, and we should be careful not to simply believe every theory that’s circulated, especially since some may only be partial truths. But if we have a biblical worldview, we will not deny or reject the possibility of a conspiracy, until we have done the research ourselves to verify the facts.

Even when we have verified there is, in fact, a conspiracy going on, we don’t need to fear those who can only kill the body. We should fear the One who can destroy both the body and the soul in hell. As Martin Luther wrote in his lyrics to his famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”:

Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.

While we don’t need to fear what man can do to us, we do need to be wise as serpents yet gentle as doves. Jesus taught His own disciples that they should flee from any city where they were persecuted, rather than remain in harms way. But then they were to continue the Lord’s work in the next place.

Finally, based on the example and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should not focus on conspiracies or possible ones, but rather upon Jesus. We should simply decide ahead of time not to defend ourselves and know that God will be glorified by whatever happens to us.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page for this blog, and you can also find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

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