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Principles of Spiritual Warfare--Part 3

A good example and illustration of spiritual warfare is found in Exodus 17, when Israel fought with Amalek at Rephidim. Moses told Joshua to conduct the physical warfare while he himself went to the top of the hill to conduct spiritual warfare with his staff (authority).

¹¹ So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus, his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³ So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge [peh, "mouth"] of the sword.

Spiritual warfare is not easy. I have found that it usually depends upon receiving the support of others in some way or other. When I go on a trip to engage in spiritual warfare, I am supported financially by our contributors who serve as "Aaron and Hur" to prevent financial exhaustion.

For example, on my trip to Corpus Christi in 1989, I was first required to travel to four corners of the map 100 miles from Mount Nebo in Arkansas, before driving to Corpus Christi. In the Bible, Mount Nebo is the place where Moses died, and in later history we read that Jeremiah buried the Ark of the Covenant at Mount Nebo when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.

The fourth corner on the map happened to be just a few miles from our house, so I was able to return home for the night before setting out for Corpus Christi. The problem was that I had only enough money to travel to the four corners and back home. So I knew that God would have to provide me with an infusion of cash if He wanted me to finish the job. When I arrived home, I found that a check for $1000 had arrived in the mail that very day.

One main reason for this trip, as I wrote in The Wars of the Lord, was to do warfare against a hurricane in the Gulf. The Word was,

"You will go to the shores of the Gulf, point the staff at the dragon in the sea, and prophesy his destruction . . . This shall prevent the hurricane from striking the city, and it shall die."

This word came on June 11, 1989, when there was no hurricane in sight. The trip began on June 19, but it was not until June 26, when I was in the middle of Texas on the way to Corpus Christi that I heard a radio report of Hurricane Allison sitting stationary in the Gulf. I arrived in Corpus Christi the next day, spoke the Word against "the dragon in the sea," and left town. I heard the next day that wind sheer had cut off the top of the hurricane, and that it had died within 24 hours without touching land.

This was a simple act of spiritual warfare that involved both physical and spiritual elements. On the physical side, Corpus Christi was spared the destruction that normally comes with a hurricane. On the spiritual side, the dragon was deprived of a meal. In mythology, dragons come from the sea and have to eat pearls to maintain themselves on land. The "Body of Christ" was the "Pearl of Great Price" that the dragon intended to eat for lunch.

But getting back to the story of Moses, there were two main aspects to his spiritual warfare. First, he had to go "with the staff of God" (vs. 9). The staff speaks of authority. In other words, he was commissioned by God to do that particular work and had the authority necessary to be successful. Secondly, he was to raise his arms in the form of the Cross on top of the hill. (Does this remind you of the huge statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, where the 2016 Olympics are to be held??)

This shows that the basis of victory was the Cross of Christ, where the law was upheld and satisfied in payment for the sin of the world. Jesus did not put away the law; He upheld it by paying the full penalty that it demanded for sin. A universal symbol for law is a Scale of Justice. It can be found on most courthouses today. Moses was simulating the Scale of Justice by raising his hands to signify perfectly balanced justice. This is also the symbolism of the Cross shape.

As long as the law was upheld and administered in perfect balance of justice and mercy, Israel was able to win the battle. Only when Moses dropped his hands did Amalek win. So Aaron and Hur held up his hands to support the proper administration of the law in the government of God.

That battle is still being fought today. Verse 16 makes it clear that this battle was generational and timeless, at least until all things are put under the feet of Christ.

¹⁶ And he said, "The Lord has sworn; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation."

The Hebrew word for "generation" is dor, "a revolution of time." It indicates that the battle is not over yet, because it was to continue being fought year after year. Amalek was the oldest son of Esau-Edom (Gen. 36:12). His son was Eliphaz, "my god is fine gold." Eliphaz did not choose his own name. His father named him according to the idol of his own heart. Hello, Mr. Feingold.

America (and every other nation) has established man-made laws that show partiality and inequality of justice. Socialism is based upon this, because it steals from those who have received compensation for their labor, and gives to those who have not. This is man-made "equality," and in the name of fairness, it has institutionalized injustice.

Likewise, Zionism is a system of inequality, where the ultimate standard of so-called "righteous judgment" is based on what is good for the "Chosen People." (See yesterday's posting on "How the Rabbis can Destroy the Law through their Traditions.") Such a system does not even pretend to include the principle of equal justice. It presumes a privileged people, with everyone else being a slave because they are literally subhuman with "satanic souls."

Zionism is based entirely on a system that is the opposite of the Cross of Christ. There is no equality of justice, and the Palestinians have received the point of this spear. Then when they fight back in the only way they know how, they are always called "militants" and "terrorists" by the media.

And the Church supports Amalek in this generational battle. They support Amalek because they have dropped their arms and stopped studying the divine law to know the mind of God in how to love their neighbors as themselves. Christian Zionists in particular are the problem, because they do not know the history of Esau-Edom and his son, Amalek.

King Saul was called to make war with Amalek. King Saul is a type of the Church under Pentecost. King Saul failed in this and thus brought a curse upon himself. An Amalekite ultimately took credit for killing Saul (2 Sam. 1:8-10). Yes, Mr. Feingold, the love of money is what is killing the Church today. Saul spared Agag and the best of his wealth, because he lusted after money and justified his disobedience on the grounds that it could be used in sacrifice to God (1 Sam. 15:15).

But God's response to that mindset was, "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft" (1 Sam. 15:23).

The history of Amalek is the history of a generational war with Mr. Feingold, the love of money that is the root of all evil. Money itself is only a store of wealth and a measure of one's labor that can be traded for goods and services. It is not evil in itself. The love of money is a system of worship that finds its clearest expression today in the Prosperity Message.

Between Prosperity teaching, the inequality of man's laws, and the Church's support for Zionism's "Privileged People," we have a big job to do.