Spiritual Wickedness
Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of this dark world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." John 8:44-45 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his owe: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not."
It`s significant to note that Apostle Paul when writing, "... against spiritual wickedness in high places..." that he was revealing the undetected yet very real presence of dark adversarial forces (spiritual beings) at work behind the scene in the highest positions of human affairs. Some scholars disagree with this interpretation, for instance, Klyne Snodgrass in NIV Application Commentary`s exegeses on Ephesians 6:12 page 341 states "Since verse 12 explains standing "against the devil`s schemes" in verse 11, Paul was surely not thinking about structures of evil such as government, law, or social conventions. Rather, he thought of personal spiritual beings seeking to disrupt life as God intended it."
Those who take this position reject interpretations that suggest that Paul was referring to spiritual rank in the context of Eph.6:12. For sure Paul is addressing the believer`s battle, however, one need only to consider the various occupations held by Christians today, all of which exist within every earthly system and at every level. Obviously, each of these systems are filled with mixed-multitudes of people , and so, based on the continuity of biblical teaching on this subject these dark spiritual beings not only exist but that they are active within governmental, political, educational, religious, law enforcement, economical, entertainment, sports, etc
Observe The Believer`s Bible Commentary`s, exegesis from page 1952 on Ephesians 6:12 " This warfare is not a matter of contending against godless philosophers, crafty priests, Christian-denying cultists, or infidel rulers. The battle is against demonic forces, against battalions of fallen angels, against evil spirits who wield tremendous power. Though we cannot see them, we are constantly surrounded by wicked spirit-beings." Referring to Apostle Paul the exegesis also states, "The apostle speaks of these fallen angels as principalities and powers, as rulers of the darkness of this age, and as spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We do not have sufficient knowledge to distinguish between these; perhaps they refer to spirit-rulers with differing degrees of authority, such as presidents, governors, majors, and alderman, on the human scale." Enough said.
Keep in mind that their (dark spirit forces) primary goal is to keep humans separated from God and godly standards which entails embracing their lies. Prayerfully consider how their leader, the father of lies has historically operated in and through the highest office in the land. Howard Zinn`s book A Power Government cannot suppress records the following taken from chapter 25 entitled "Governments Lie." I am not speaking of the history we learned in the public school system. a history subservient to our political leaders, from the much-admired Founding Fathers to the presidents of recent years. I mean a history that is honest about the past. If we don`t know that history then any president can stand up to the battery of microphones and declare that we must go to war, and we will have no basis for challenging him. He-or-she- will say that the nation is in danger, that democracy and liberty are at stake, and that we must therefore send ships and planes to destroy our new enemies, and we will have no reason to disbelieve that president.
But if we know some history, if we know how many times presidents have made similar declarations to the country, and how they turned out to be lies, we would not be fooled although some of us may pride ourselves that we were never fooled, we still might accept as our civic duty the responsibility to buttress our fellow citizens against the mendacity of our high officials. We would remind whoever we can that President Polk lied to the nation about the reason for going to war with Mexico in 1846. It wasn`t that Mexico "shed American blood upon the American soil" but that Polk, and the slave-owning aristocracy coveted half of Mexico. We would point out that President McKinley lied in 1898 about the reason for invading Cuba, saying we wanted to liberate the Cubans from Spanish control, but the truth is that the United States wanted Spain out of Cuba so that the Island could be open to United Fruit and American corporations. He also lied about the reasons for our war in the Philippines, claiming we only wanted to "civilize" the Filipinos, while the real reason was to own a valuable piece of real estate in the far Pacific, even if we had to kill hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in order to accomplish that.
President Woodrow Wilson lied about the reasons for entering the first World War, saying it was a war to "Make the world safe for democracy" when it was really a war to make the world safe for the Western imperial powers. Harry Truman lied to the nation and the world when he described Hiroshima-which he had just devastated with an atomic bomb-as "an important Japanese army base." More than 100,00 civilians-men, women, and children-died in what was a city of 359,000. Truman also lied to the nation about our war in Korea, saying we were fighting for democracy (hardly, since South Korea was a military dictatorship). More than 50,000 Americans and perhaps 2 million Koreans died as a result. Dwight D. Eisenhower lied about the U.S. spy flights over the Soviet Union, even after one flier on such a mission was shot down. He deceived the nation and the world about U.S. involvement in the coup that overthrew a democratic government in Guatemala. That coup brought on a succession of military juntas that took tens of thousands of lives. Eisenhower deceived the nation about U.S. role in subverting a government in Iran because it was offending multinational oil corporations. Everyone lied about Vietnam, Kennedy said the United States were not involved in the overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem. Kennedy also repeatedly claimed that American fliers were not involved in the bombing of Vietnam, even though he sent two helicopter companies there as early as 1962, with the U.S. military dropping napalm shortly thereafter. Johnson and Nixon both lied when they claimed only military targets were bombed (reporters knew the greatest number of deaths was among civilians.) And Nixon deceived the nation about the secret bombing of Cambodia.
Reagan lied to the nation about his covert and illegal support of the Contras in Nicaragua. He lied about the importance of Granada in order to justify the 1983 invasion of that little island. George Bush lied about the reason for invading Panama in 1989, saying it was to stop the drug trade. In fact, the United States has allowed the drug trade to flourish, Bush also deceived the nation about his real interest in the Persian Gulf. He pretended to be anguished about the fate of Kuwait while he was actually more concerned about enhancing American power in Saudi Arabia and controlling the regions oil deposits. The U.S. government lied in March 2003 about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction. "Now that Americans no longer believe in the war nor Bush and his administration, and evidence of official deception has become old news, we might ask; why were so many people so easily fooled? The question is important because it might help us understand why Americans-members of the media-as well as the ordinary citizen- rushed to declare their support as the president was sending troops halfway around the world to Iraq."
A small example of the innocence (or obsequiousness to be more exact) of the press is the way it reacted to Secretary of State Colin Powell`s presentation in February 2003 to the UN Security Council a month before the invasion. A speech that may have set a record for the number of falsehoods told in one talk. In it, Powell confidently rattled off his "evidence". Satellite photographs, audio records, reports from informants, with precise statistics on how many gallons of this and that existed for chemical warfare. The New York Times was breathless with admiration. The Washington Post editorial was titled "Irrefutable". And declared that after Powell`s talk its hard to imagine how anyone could doubt that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction".
The truth was that a small army of UN inspectors could not find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. A large army of 100,000 soldiers marauding through the country could not find them. But back in February 2003 the White House said: " We know for a fact that there are weapons their". Vice President Dick Cheney said on Meet The Press {W}e believe Saddam has in fact reconstituted nuclear weapons". On March 30, 2003, Rumsfeid said on ABC-TV: " We know they are there". And Bush said on Polish TV "We`ve found the weapons of mass destruction". The only weapons of mass destruction in Iraq turned out to be ours: bombs and missiles raining down by the thousands, cluster bombs spewing out deadly pellets, the arsenal of the greatest military power on earth visiting destruction on yet another country".
In chapter 23 entitled The Coming End of The Iraq War, the following is recorded, "Now we are the occupiers. True, we liberated Iraq from Saddam Hussein, but not from us. Just as in 1898 we liberated Cuba from Spain, but not from us. Spanish tyranny was overthrown, but the U.S. established a military base in Cuba, as we are doing in Iraq. U.S, corporations moved into Cuba, just as Bechtel and Halliburton and the oil corporations have moved into Iraq".
It`s imperative to understand that when we fail to embrace truth as presented in the above historical facts the only alternative would be to accept the lies. The position we choose will inevitably clarify if we are on God`s team or Satan`s. Its impossible too serve two masters. I`m strongly persuaded that Almighty God desires that humans make informed decisions. And as Apostle Paul says, "...God would not have us ignorant", Ignorance leads to destruction. Hos. 4:6. Know this: Ignorance always opens multiple doors for deception.
I presented some of the following information on another web page; ( see; Spirit of Poverty Revealed) but here my focus is relevant in a different light. By God`s grace and mercy, some humans are given spiritual insight whereby they gain experiential understanding of intricately woven spiritual aspects occurring in human affairs. Such insights entail observations of spiritual and physical, natural and supernatural, and visible and invisible aspects of good and evil collaborations. It was this God-given perspective which enabled Apostle Paul to write the above passage, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood..." (Eph.6:12) And for Apostle John to share his personal revelation which describes demonic beings as having, "...Shapes of locusts...faces like men...hair of women...teeth of lions..." (Rev.9:7-9) The prophet Elisha said to his young protégé "For they that be with us are more than they, that be with them." Then Elisha prayed, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes." His protégé wasn`t physically blind, but unlike Elisha he couldn`t see the presence of spirit beings. Its my prayer that readers eyes are opened to the following example of how evil collaborations merge.
America is one of the wealthiest nations upon the earth, yet many in leadership are never satisfied, as show in the above examples which reveal the hidden agendas of former U.S. presidents. All of the lies told were linked by a common thread: putting self-interest first. Their decisions to lie, assures us that they were determined to put self-interest first. You might ask why is putting self-interest first a problem? Let`s turn to the Lord Jesus for clarity. Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." You see, putting self-interest first is the exact opposite of denying oneself. Its noteworthy to understand why Jesus not only denied himself but immediately began teaching (in the context of Matthew 16:22-27) his soon to be leaders (disciples) how and why its self-defeating to chose self-satisfaction over self-denial.
You see the evil one, oh yeah, the father of lies will always and I mean always try to convince us never to deny ourselves no matter how it will effect others. For clarity I`m using The Living Bible translation of Matthew 7:16-17 Jesus said " You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. Different kinds of fruit tress can quickly be identified by examining their fruit." Just as we need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes we also need never be confused as to rather spiritual forces of good or evil spiritual beings are dictating the direction in the structural systems upon the earth. Its just a matter of time before a tree bears fruit, similarly although most are like Elisha`s protégé and can`t see spiritual beings we can detect their presence by the actions of those they manipulate. Revelation 12:9 " And the great dragon, was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world...." This passage reveals just how pervasive and entrenched Satan`s influence remains upon the whole world. All we need to do is to ask ourselves which supernatural beings were inspiring, guiding, directing and or motivating the former presidents when they chose self-interest no matter how it affected others upon the earth? Were the spiritual beings angels of light or dark angels or perhaps demons? Remember John 8:44 when Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders he said, Ye are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do..."
On Bibletools website Bible verses about Satan`s Influence (From Forerunner Commentary) Matthew 16:24-25, Like The Messiah, we must deny ourselves. John W. Ritenbaugh expounding upon this topic hits the nail on the head. " Put Satan into this picture. What is he going to do to us? Through disinformation and affecting our attitudes, he will lead us toward self-satisfaction, not self-denial, because self-satisfaction is the essence of sin. When we sin, we bring upon ourselves the death penalty. To teach the right lesson Jesus immediately taught-to counteract what Satan was subtly teaching through Peter-that the way to the kingdom of God is through self-denial not self-satisfaction. Satan will try to persuade us not to deny ourselves but to fulfill ourselves at the expense of others"
The challenge here, somewhat like Ritenbaugh, I ask readers to rethink what`s shared above about former presidents by putting Satan into the picture. Yes, I`m asking readers to envision the evil one influencing and enhancing each self-centered lie that former U.S. presidents chose to tell as conveyed in the 25th chapter entitled "Governments Lie" of Howard Zinn`s book A Power Government cannot suppress. Today many believe that God put Donald Trump in the White House, Some prophets strongly take this same position. However, I think it`s wise to prayerfully consider what the bible teaches us about dispensations. The word "dispensation" means " a system of order, government, or organization of a nation, community , etc.,especially as existing at a particular time."
Looking through the bible, we can find seven distinct dispensations, or "ways of doing things" that were God-ordered and God- ordained. Each dispensation has a purpose in the overall story. You see, dispensations reveal how God has dealt with humanity in different ways at different times-revealing to us his character and plan for mankind. Here are the seven dispensations in brief:(1) The Dispensation of Innocence: Covers the time from creation of man to the to the fall of man (Genesis 1:28-30) (2) The Dispensation of Conscience: The expulsion from the garden began the dispensation of conscience- a time when man was left to rule himself by his own will and conscience, both of which had been tainted by sin. It was a disaster, and ended in disaster- the worldwide flood. (Genesis 3:8-8:22) (3) The Dispensation of Human Government: This dispensation began after the flood. God made promises and gave commands to Noah and his family. God promised not to curse the earth again, and never to flood it again. God established the law of capital punishment,and also allowed them to use animals for food. (Genesis 8:1-9-7)
(4) Dispensation of Promise: The dispensation of human government lasted until the call of Abraham. The call of Abraham, the lives of the patriarchs, and the enslavement of the Jewish people in Egypt all fall under the dispensation of promise. This was the time when Abraham's descendants waited for the promise that was given to Abraham: That God would make Abraham`s descendants a great nation and give them their own land. (Genesis 12:1-7) (5) The Dispensation of Law: The dispensation of law lasted almost 1,500 years, beginning with the Exodus and ending with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law outlined the standard of perfection that God required from his people. This was the age of priests, prophets and kings, both good and evil. (6) The Dispensation of Grace: The dispensation of grace started at the resurrection of Jesus Christ and continues today. It is the new covenant in Jesus Christ`s blood. During this dispensation, we have the Comforter with us; The Holy Spirit, who indwells believers. (John 14:16-26) (7) The Millennial Kingdom of Christ: The millennial kingdom begins with the defeat of Satan (Rev. 20:1-3) and ushers in 1,000 years of peace, where Jesus Christ will reign on the earth. (Rev.20:4) This is the fulfillment of many prophecies, declaring that Jesus would return and be king. After the 1,00 years are ended Satan will be released. People will again follow him in battle against God and they will be defeated again (Rev. 20:7-10) There will be a final judgment of all people."
The reason why I say that it is wise to prayerfully consider the above brief descriptions of each dispensation is based on making clear observations relative to how God deals with humankind according to the dispensation in which we live. This significance points to why I strongly suggest that God did not place Donald Trump in office. I could agree with this position if we were living during the 2nd, third, or 5th dispensation where at times God employed or permitted such methods to chastise or punish his people for continued disobedience. You see, because we are living during the Dispensation of Grace, God employs different ways to deal with his people. You see, during the dispensation of grace God does the following 2 Corinthian 5:21 " For he hath made him sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" This means that when God looks at believers today he sees the righteousness we received by faith in what Jesus achieved through his work at the cross. This does not mean that we get a free pass to sin, Romans 6:1 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God Forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
Although judgement is not employed collectively as done, for example, when Caleb and Joshua tried, unsuccessfully to get God`s people to enter the land of milk and honey. (Numbers 14:22-25) 12 spies including Joshua and Caleb were sent to investigate, for forty days, the land of milk and honey that God had promised to give his people. 10 of them came back with a negative report which incited fear, so much so, that God`s people refused to move forward to take the land. Judgment was swift, the 10 spies were struck dead, and all of the others were forced to wander in the in the wilderness. Furthermore because the 12 spies had been sent to spy out the land for forty days, the judgment was for all of the rest of them to wander in the wilderness for forty years. Even though Caleb and Joshua obeyed fully, they still had to wander for forty years with everyone else. I love when God makes the distinction, separating Caleb from the others, Numbers 14:24 "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereby he went; and his seed shall shall posses it."
However, based on the dispensation Caleb lived in he still had to wander in the wilderness with the others for forty years. The others would die over the forty year period, but their descendants would enter with Caleb. When Caleb came out of the wilderness he was 85 years old. (Joshua 14:7) Conversely, the dispensation of grace reveals how God will judge each of us directly, and personally, instead of collectively as he did during the dispensation of the promise. However, and moreover, for the believer, who has the indwelling Holy Spirit, God holds us to an even higher standard. But not just us, for all humans are held to a different kind of accountability today. In the New Testament while under the dispensation of grace Apostle Paul writes" 2 Corinth 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." :Acts 17:30 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent." God, through his word, has made it clear that he does not want humans to be ignorant concerning the evil one and his deceptive powers. Oh yeah, the devil will have many calling whats evil good, and what`s good evil. One way that Satan transforms into a angel of light is by operating through religious leaders, so as too, lead many who are following these misguided religious leaders directly in the opposite direction of God`s will.
Let`s go a step further and prayerfully consider the strong probability of Satan`s presence in the following picture: "The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler, Salvador Rizzo, Kelly Meg. News About False Statements Made By Donald Trump
Fact Checker
Donald J. Trump@realdonaldtrump...displays a running list of every false or misleading statement made by Trump. We also catalogued the presidents many flip-flops since those earn upside down.
In the 497 days since he took the oath of office, President Trump has made 3,251 false or misleading claims. According to the fact checker database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president. That's an average of more than 6.5 claims a day. When we first started this project for the president`s first 100 days, he averaged 4.9 claims a day. But the average number of claims per day keeps climbing as the president nears the 500-day mark of his presidency. In the month of May, the president made about eight claims a day-including an astonishing 35 claims in his rally in Nashville on May 29. Trump has a proclivity to repeat, over and over, many of his false or misleading statements. We`ve counted at least 122 claims that the president has repeated at least three times, some with breathtaking frequency."
The question, again, becomes which supernatural beings are motivating Donald Trump? When I ask myself this question what`s reverberating in my mind is when Jesus said, "Ye are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do..." Some might think I`m too critical, but the true biblical test is not so much based on the lies being told. You see, in the context of John 8:37-47 what clearly pinpoints and separates those being led by God and those under the influence of the evil one, is based on how they deal with truth when its presented to them. Those who Jesus defined as children of the devil, consistently reject truth. This is made clear when immediately after John 8:44, we read John 8:45 Jesus said "And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." Keep in mind how we know a tree by the fruit it bears. Every time Donald Trump is confronted with truth he calls it fake news. What kind of fruit is this? As a linguist, University of California, Berkely professor George Lakoff says, "Calling real news fake is an attempt to hide and undermine the function of the truth in a democracy." What kind of supernatural being would inspire, guide and motivate a world leader to hide and undermine the function of truth? Such willingness to embrace the lie reveals the merger where when the evil collaboration between Satan in the spirit realm and humankind in the physical realm meet. I repeat every time humans agree with the father of lies it`s like two thirsty lovers reuniting. Spiritual wickedness in high places indeed.
Consider the following: Proverbs 6:16-19 "These six things doeth the LORD hate: yea seven are an abomination unto him A proud look, A lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." Proverbs 17:4 " The wicked enjoy fellowship with others who are wicked; liars enjoy liars.
Perhaps it`s safe to say that most people lie but the above passages, in particular, describe the type of liars who are gratified by telling lies and do not regret anything they have ever said. Moreover, pathological liars just cannot stop telling so many lies. It`s of further significance to note that its impossible for pathological liars to feel guilt, shame, nor can they feel empathy for others. Normal people t(for lack of better term)try to cover or hide lies, and feel guilt or bad when their caught in a lie. This is not the case with pathological liars. That said perhaps you can see why there world is much more different from our world. John 8:44 ,Jesus said ". For you are the children of your father the devil and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and a hater of truth-there is not an iota of truth in him. When he lies he is perfectly normal; for he is the father of liars." I repeat, when humans decide to embrace the lie we not only enter into agreement with the Devil because when such evil collaborations occur we simultaneously turn our backs on truth.
I can not overemphasize how deceptively smooth and often gratifying this evil merger in high places is. The diabolic and human merger paints a picture of, again I say, two thirsty lovers reuniting. To counter this wicked bond with the evil one Jesus said John 8:31-32 "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Since the truth will make you free, what will the lie do? The lie will keep you trapped. In all thy getting, get understanding, my brother, and my sister. Spiritual wickedness in high places is what it is: wicked.
