Tag Archives: spirit of the world

About the legal right of demons to operate and how to deal with it.

Meaning of the term

Legal Right is a term used in deliverance and spiritual warfare to refer to the right that Satan obtains to operate within a community of faith.

We say it is a right because it is according to the authorization that the children of faith grant him to operate in their environment.

Satan cannot work within a community of faith, a community founded upon the biblical and spiritual principles of the Kingdom of God and His Justice.

The following text confirms this:

We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. 1st. John 5:18

It is a very spiritual principle that we find it referred to also in the writings of the Old Testament.

How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? Numbers 23:8

The text par excellence, Psalm 91,

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abides under the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” 3Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. Psalm 91:1-3

Cases like Job’s,

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” 9So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But now, stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” 12And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. Job 1:1-12

And the case of the apostle Peter, the night that Jesus was betrayed,

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. Luke 22:31

Texts like these show us that Satan does not have permission, nor authority, to act within an ambience of faith; that if he does so it is because he acquired the right to do so by permission granted by the community.

The term does not appear as such in the biblical text, although it does define its meaning. We reviewed two texts that establish the beginning of the definition.

The text of Isaiah 49:24, 25

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty,
Or the captives of the righteous be delivered? 25But thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children. Isaiah 49:24-25

The meaning of the term arises from the concept that in the text have the terms, mighty (ִיִבּוֹר gibbor); and, captives of the righteous (ְבִּי גּּושׁ sebi tsadik).

The first term, (ּוִבּוֹר) gibbor, translated into other texts as, strenuous, powerful, courageous, is used to identify someone who in battle defeats another, or who has sufficient strength of mind to face another. The term does not necessarily allude to physical strength. In that sense, Gideon and David are mighty,[1] as is Goliath.[2]

The second term, (שִּׁי צַדּשׁ sebi tsadik), which it is up to us to understand, refers to the prey reached by victory, by right, the prey not unjustly snatched. The one who obtained the prey has the right to keep it.

The Septuagint translates this part, as,

Will it keep the loot if it’s won incorrectly?

This is the definition of legal right. It is a earned right, granted by the one who was defeated in good standing; and therefore, any decision and eventual action taken on the dam by the one who has it in his power cannot be stopped by the former owner, but until he recovers it again in the same terms as he lost it.

Verse 25 establishes the provision that the legal right can be dissolved, and further sets forth the manner in which the legal right can be annulled.

The text of Genesis 3:14-19

So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. Genesis 3:14

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:17-19

The definition of legal right arises from the comparison and conjugation of the words that Jehovah-God addressed to the serpent, and to man, separately.

Let us take a closer look at the text of Genesis. Notice the statute of life that God establishes for the serpent. It is established that the serpent shall eat dust all the days of her life.

Now note the degenerative status of his physical condition that is imposed on man. Man is dust, and dust will be returned.

Now, let us conjugate both pronouncements.

What does the serpent feed on? And by extension, since the serpent is representative of Satan, what does Satan feed on?

The serpent feeds on dust.

Now, what is man? Man is dust.

So it means that the serpent feeds on man, is that clear to you?

Let’s enlarge the idea. What does Satan feed on? He feeds on everything that man gives him of his own, including his own life. It feeds upon what man authorizes the snake to make use of it.

Legal right is the authorization that the man of faith grants Satan to operate within his community, and within his activity. And we emphasize, a man of faith, because as we pointed out at the beginning of the article, it is the unique community where Satan does not have operating authority.

It is inconceivable to speak of legal right in an unbeliever, in an ungodly, in an atheist, in one not born of the Grace of the Lord, for they are within the kingdom of darkness, and Satan has a free operation among them.

The legal right is the basis that Satan has to take territories, and establish in them his government of wickedness.

This leads us to ask a question,

What happens to countries that suffer violence and tend toward perversity?

What so far has been considered as satanic attacks, referring to the scenarios of violence and badness that a city, or country, suffers, is in reality legal rights acquired by Satan to operate in the area.

Regions subjected to repression and violence, such as the cases of Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Honduras, El Salvador, Bolivia, Peru, are not simply satanic attacks over the region; these are positioning of evil powers established in the country with permission to operate.

These are legal rights that the community of faith gave up, and for which the darkness has established an atmosphere of violence and badness. These are tolerated injustices within the bosom of the church, not denounced, which allowed the darkness to be stationed in the area.

Churches that rise up against each other, defamation of ministries, rebellions and divisions within churches, tolerance of sin, theft and embezzlement of offertory monies, institutionalized gossip, tolerance of heretical doctrines, to mention a few factors, are the cause of the legal right that communities of faith have given to Satan.

This situation is not resolved by decree, nor is it sufficient with massive concentrations of churches and ministries. These activities, on the contrary, strengthen the legal right and lengthen the time of the positioning of darkness in the place.

How to cancel the legal right

The legal right can only be annulled under the cover of the Lordship of Christ. It is the man or woman of faith the only ones who can rescind the legal right, and it is only possible to do so when they identify, recognize and admit the cause that granted Satan the right to act, not before.

To cancel the legal right it has to face Satan at the same point and in the same terms where it was given the right to act. The legal right is annulled when the man or woman of faith acknowledges their madness, and proceeds to restore the damage caused by their madness.

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:8-10

It is a process that begins with repentance, but is complemented with compensation for the harm; this last part is what many do not consider necessary.

The principle is present in the Law of Moses.

And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. Leviticus 5:16

Or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering. Leviticus 6:5

And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it. Leviticus 22:14

It is necessary to humble oneself before God and to revoke the legal right granted through the restitution of the incurred damage.

But this is a people robbed and plundered; all of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they are for prey, and no one delivers; for plunder, and no one says, “Restore!” Isaiah 42:22

The strategy applied in spiritual warfare is first to find the legal right that Satan has acquired and by which he is operating in such a person, or in such a region.

You will only have victory over Satan when you have taken away the legal right that allowed him to operate in the territory.

 

 

Pastor Pedro Montoya

Twitter: @pastormontoya

[1] Judges 6:12; I Samuel 16:18

[2] I Samuel 17:51

Why, if I am a son of light, must I be obedient to the spirit of this world?

And we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know what God has given us; 1st. Corinthians 2:12

As a start-up, what is the spirit of the world? Is it a real spirit, or is it just an idiomatic expression of the apostle’s style of writing?

If it is a writing style, the spirit of the world is nothing more than the influence of society, the philosophy of life of a community, or merely the religious expression of the pagan cults of the region. On the contrary, if it is a real spirit, the matter is more serious than we can imagine, because it is a demonic force that has and exercises government over entire communities.

It is clear that the apostle is not making use of a simple literary twist, because from the moment in which, in the writing, the apostle is comparing him with the Spirit that is from God: -we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God-, it is because the apostle is identifying a spiritual being.

It is not a personification. To say so would be the same thing as accepting the use of a literary twist, and we have already ruled out that the apostle is appealing to a literary style in his writing. On the other hand, Paul’s comparison demands that the elements compared be of the same genre, and equivalent among themselves.

In another of his epistles in which he writes in the same terms, he identifies him as a spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience, and assures that he is a spiritual being, and names him prince of the power of the air.

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Ephesians 2:2

Other writers also refer to him showing his personal characteristic. James in his epistle presents him as an enemy of God:

Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:4

Only in the writing of James, the name of the spirit is implicit. It refers to the friendship of the world (with the spirit), it is enmity with God. James warns about the spiritual estrangement to which the spirit of the world leads believers, driving them away and turning them away from God.

Apostle John has also identified the personal characteristics of the spirit of the world. He writes in his first epistle:

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1st. John 2:15

As in the writing of the apostle James, the spirit of the world is implicit in the wording. It refers to:

Love not the (spirit of the) world, neither the things that are in the (spirit of the) world. If any man loves the (spirit of the) world, the love of the Father is not in him.

John denounces that the spirit of the world enchants their inhabitants and offers them benefits that dazzle them and lead them to aspire for them. It is observed in another section of the same letter: For all that is in the (spirit of the) world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the (spirit of the) world.  It is clearly visible that the spirit of the world immerses the inhabitants of the regions in a hypnotic magic where those who have fallen under its spell substitute God for the elements that dazzle them.

The weakness that many teachers and preachers of The Word have had, around the theme, is that with “world” we have identified a social, religious, economic, financial and even political system. We have treated the theme as an embodiment of evil in things, and that has prompted us to select out of the world the things that are good from the things that are evil. Of course, the selection has been made whimsically, according to our own conveniences, and in doing so, we have unfortunately proliferated evil itself.

The spirit of the world is not an embodiment of evil in things, it is a spirit, a real spirit that dazzles, blinds and uses all things under heaven, created or invented, to alienate people from God. The first writers were clear that it was a spirit of wickedness in charge of subjecting the inhabitants under a hypnotic state, of magic, under a snare of the devil, as the apostle Paul assures us, captives at his will.

And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. 2nd. Timothy 2:26

How does the spirit of the world impose his authority upon their inhabitants?

The spirit of the world is present in almost all the day-to-day activities of the residents of a region. It is imposed and presented in the traditional, cultural and customary forms of their inhabitants. We obey him without realizing it every day.

Hasn’t a child of faith ever celebrated Valentine’s Day? Hasn’t a child of faith ever participated in Halloween? Hasn’t a child of faith ever celebrated Christmas, adorned a Christmas tree? Hasn’t he ever marveled at its splendour? All of them are pagan festivals, originated on the basis of religious, magical, Gnostic and esoteric rituals. Apostate rituals, by all means, that defiles the spirituality of the children of light.

It is the spirit of the world that has established rulership over entire generations of “born-again,” but they have not visualized the satanic web under which they have submitted themselves by practicing all these pagan traditions.

Consider, for example, the presence of Cupid on Valentine’s Day, the god of desire within Greco-Roman mythology. The observance of this date by a son of light allows the spirit of fornication that operates under this pagan god to enter into his marriage, or into his courtship.

The same thing happens with Christmas. A festivity that does not represent the real date of the birth of Jesus, but that imposes the presence of a shady tree under which gifts are placed that come from the tutelage of a magical personage. Both proscribed in the Scriptures:

He also sacrificed, and burned perfumes on the high places, and on the hills, and under every shady tree. II Kings 16:4

And statues and forests were set up on every high hill, and under every shady tree, II Kings 17:10

Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? Isaiah 57:5

When we become aware of our traditions and routines, we discover how swamped our lives are with the influence of the spirit of the world. The apostle John identifies the presence of the spirit of the world in all areas of human endeavor:

For all that is in the (spirit of the) world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  1st. john 2:16

The wisdom of a son of light is to discern how much of what we are required to do on a daily basis is influenced by the spirit of the world because although we have pointed out two popular festivals as an example, it is not the only pagan festivities we have to take care of.

Daily activities, folk expressions, business, can be contracts of defilement with the spirit of the world, and it can grant the legal right to the kingdom of darkness to trap and force a child of light to be subject to its jurisdiction.

Business-expression coined to emphasize an “idol-worship” product, is not only advertising slogans, or jingles, on the lips of a son of light are constituted in contracts of servitude and slavery.

Some may remember, some years ago, a cough syrup where the mom in front of her child in bed said to him: – (the mark of the syrup) and I, we take care of you. An ingenuous phrase perhaps, but lethal spiritually, because it diverts the attention from Who really takes care of a child of light.

TV or radio programs, variety shows, conversational interviews, and gossip that coin phrases that eventually become popular expressions; in a son of light these expressions can evoke the spirit that gave life to the program.

In Puerto Rico, it was popular the show SuperXclusivo that was maintained for 13 consecutive years, where its main character, a human doll, focused on ridiculing celebrities and popular figures, coined the expression: -throw it into the air, (something like, expose to the public opinion). People would be surprised how many children of light that had integrated that expression into their language, and even quote them within churches.

That expression evoked gossip, and gave rights to the spirit of the world to operate in its bosom. Now possibly we would understand the reason why within many congregations of faith there grew gossip and mocking the misfortunes of others.

Possibly even reading this publication there are those who believe, naively, that the approaches presented incur in religious fanaticism. There is a reality that we cannot ignore, the spirit of the world has taken hold within communities of faith, and this has caused a spiritual relaxation, leading many to classify the bad as good, and the good as bad.

It becomes necessary, urgent, imperative, that communities of faith awaken from spiritual lethargy, that we can see the sadness of our situation of estrangement and apostasy, that we return to the Word and live it, that we renounce the paganism of our customs and repent , so that the restoration predicted by the prophets of ancient times and preached by the first apostles may come in our time.

May the merciful God revive his work in us, make the enlightened shine, and from among the dry bones he may resurrect his army.

Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 1st. John 5:5

 

 

 

 

Pastor Pedro Montoya

Tel Cell. (407) 764-2699

Twitter: @pastormontoya