Tag Archives: Spiritual Warfare

The Forcefulness of the Minister of Deliverance’s Authority…

The forcefulness of the authority regarding the ministry of spiritual warfare and deliverance, depends on the degree of Revelation that the minister has attained, and that he/she has understood, above all. In view of the fact that spiritual warfare and deliverance is to enter into battle against the forces of darkness that are in one place, and in one person, it is very important that the minister ‘understands’ what he/she has acquired about deliverance, based on the Scriptures at all times, otherwise his/her authority will be shaken at some point.

Spiritual warfare and deliverance are not formulas, nor costumes, nor rites, nor anything similar, the demons do not obey any of that,

In fact, acting based on such practices strengthen the ‘right’ of the demon to continue operating in the place.[1]  Spiritual warfare and deliverance are exercised based on faith, because no one can see what he is fighting against, and this, if one does not have enough faith to operate, constitutes the greatest hindrance when it comes to exercise it, and can stop the liberation. In many cases, the confrontation is against more than one spiritual being at the same time, which demands that the minister knows how to take care of his or her physical condition, and learns to dose his or her strength to avoid falling into physical and mental exhaustion.

Spiritual warfare and deliverance are not formulas, nor costumes, nor rites, nor anything similar, the demons do not obey any of that, Spiritual warfare and deliverance are exercised based on faith,

The Revelation on which one works is decisive to subdue the authority and the right of the demon, and to expel him from the place. Note that we say ‘Revelation’, and not ‘knowledge’, for it is not the same thing; someone may have much knowledge but lack authority, as recorded in Matthew 7:29, we read: “for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”; the scribes were Levites and had much knowledge of the Scriptures, but they had no authority.

The authority arises as a consequence of the Revelation, it is instantaneous,

Note in the following texts, how the demons recognize the Revelation and authority that a person has, it is seen in the recognition that they make about the person; in Mark 1:24, we read: “saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.”.  In Acts 19:15 we also have another example: “And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?”. Authority arises from the deposit of Revelation that the person has acquired from God, and not only from the knowledge he or she has, no matter how good it may be.

From the account in Luke 4:36 we can understand that Revelation consists of the Word understood, and not just the Word recited: “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.”. Note that we say, Word understood, and not, Word interpreted; ‘understanding’ the Word is not ‘interpreting’ it, it is not about interpreting the Word, it is understanding it, understanding brings Salvation, as we read in the very Words of Jesus, in the text of Matthew,

12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

Mathew 13:12-14

See now the parallel text of Mark,

10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

Mark 4:10-12

Let us carefully attend to the following doctrinal basis of faith, and strive to understand it. The lack of understanding of the Word causes the instantaneous generation of a satanic operation and intervention of confusion, in the person and in his environment, as we can corroborate in the following text of Matthew 13:19: “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side”. Now, based on the same text, let us put it the other way around and see the value of ‘understanding’ God’s Revelation; if the lack of understanding of the Word causes satanic intervention to be generated, the ‘understanding’ of the Word results in the ‘casting out’ of the demon. Thus it is clear that it is the understanding of Revelation that gives a person authority.

The lack of understanding of the Word causes the instantaneous generation of a satanic operation and intervention of confusion, in the person and in his environment,

A couple of years ago, the Lord made me go through an experience that at the time I did not understand (it was not to be understood at that time), but I acted in faith, believing that God was doing it with a purpose. I was visiting the church I had pastored several years ago, in Guatemala City, and my visit coincided with the 30th anniversary of the church, so they gave me the time to preach that Sunday morning; during the time of worship, the Lord urged me to take off my shoes, based on the text of Exodus 3:5: “..put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground”, Which I did without much hesitation; when they were about to give me the time for the preaching of the Word, I wanted to put on my shoes again to be ready to go to the pulpit, immediately the Lord told me not to put on my shoes, to go barefoot to the pulpit, and to preach that way, I confess that it was a little uncomfortable at the beginning.

A year after that event I understood the reason for the Lord’s demand to preach barefoot. One afternoon of ministry came to me the case of a believer who in her years in the world had practiced Satanism, she came to receive deliverance, because although a woman of faith, she had attacks that she had not been able to overcome; as soon as I began to pray and rebuke, the demon manifested itself, but resisted to leave; the case was extremely strong, to such a degree that there came a time when I felt weakened and did not know what else to do. Under that strong struggle, the Lord spoke to me, and told me, “show him who is in the wrong place”, wrong place? to what did the Lord refer? how to do it? And there the Spirit of Truth took me back to that Sunday that I preached barefoot, and reminded me, “…. put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground“; there the Lord gave me understanding of the Revelation of that act of preaching barefoot, the devil is in the wrong place because the place where we are is “Holy”, he does not belong here, therefore he has to leave; I immediately proceeded to take off my shoes, and with the authority that the Revelation gave me, I said, I rebuke you, demon, leave this place because you do not belong to this place, it is holy ground, and the person was like pushed against the wall and then fell to the floor, and the demon had come out of it.

Authority comes as a result of understanding the Revelation of the Word, it is not only to know the Word, it is to understand the ‘spirit’ of the Word, before it there is no demon that can resist.

I see many people with much knowledge but with little Revelation, in many cases, because the men and women that God has called are bound by religious ties, united to denominational commitments, faithful to a dogma rather than to the Word. The men and women who want to do the Will of God must first validate their commitment to God rather than to men. Peace.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Authorized King James Version, 1909 (AKJV).

Pastor Pedro Montoya

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[1]     Acts 19:13-16: 13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

This kind goes out by nothing, but only by prayer and fasting… Matthew 17:21 (Mark 9:29)

Spiritual warfare and deliverance are not very popular topics within the ecclesiastical community, and not because the topics are considered unbiblical, since we have all read in the Gospels that Jesus cast out demons from those suffering from chronic illnesses and diseases; the unattractiveness of spiritual warfare and deliverance is due, in good measure, because most believers flee from anything that represents dealing with demons, or the manifestation of demons.

However, if we carefully review the Scriptures we will see that deliverance was one of the main functions that Jesus delegated to His disciples; in Matthew 10:8, we read: “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”; delegation of functions that is still valid today for all those who are called to the Kingdom of God, especially those who exercise a ministerial function.

Reviewing the Scriptures about the value of spiritual warfare and deliverance, we discover that spiritual warfare and deliverance is the ministry that establishes the Will of God on earth,[1] it is the only way determined by God to establish the Kingdom of God on earth,[2] and the most forceful way to establish and proclaim the preaching of the cross.[3]

The apostle Paul defines spiritual warfare and deliverance, as the working of his mighty power, operated by the Spirit, but exercised by faith, which means that the only thing the believer has to know is what the Lord’s Will is, and establish it with the authority of faith, knowing that Satan and the demons see in the believer a man and a woman not subject to the law of sin and death;[4] therein lies their authority.

The preparation for spiritual warfare and liberation is not enough to say that Satan is defeated, it is not enough to say that Jesus defeated him on the cross of Calvary; it is necessary that whoever wants to operate in it, lives in faith, knows the work of God, and knows the work of Jesus on the cross; it is the understanding of what all this means as part of the Grace of God, which gives the authority to the believer, as it was established by Jesus, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.[5]

it is necessary that whoever wants to operate in it, lives in faith, knows the work of God, and knows the work of Jesus on the cross;

Jesus taught His disciples in daily practice on the basis of the multitude of deliverance cases they worked on together, so many cases, that in a direct reference by Mark, he claims that at times Jesus and the disciples did not even have time to eat.[6]  The gospel writers did not make many direct references to Jesus’ instructions on spiritual warfare and deliverance; the few direct references we have, however, teach us that demons do not leave of their own free will,[7] that demons tend to return to the place from which they were cast out,[8] that demons are cast out by the intervention of the minister of the Holy Spirit,[9] that demons have a ‘right’ to be in a person,[10]   that acts of unrighteousness give demons a ‘right’ to oppress people,[11] that lack of understanding and disobedience to the instructions of the Word of God causes a movement of demons in a person’s environment,[12] and that there are genera (families) of demons that do not yield easily to rebuke, that these only come out by fasting and prayer.[13]

Regarding the fact that there are kinds of demons that can only be cast out by prayer and fasting, with this instruction Jesus established the need for the deliverance minister to periodically undergo times of fasting and prayer. In daily experience I have found that the instruction has been interpreted the other way around, that it is the one affected who must submit to fasting, which contradicts the instruction.

Fasting is not in itself a resource, neither material nor spiritual; fasting has no power to transform things, nor is it capable of making things incline in its favor;

No one is stronger spiritually just by fasting; in natural terms, the value of fasting depends on the attitude of the person, and all it achieves is to strengthen the resolution that moved him to fast;[14] as for one who lives by faith, fasting has the meaning of showing by his act, that he lays down his own self-sufficiency, to wait for salvation from the Lord.[15]

However, in order to understand the reason for Jesus’ instruction, we have to take help from the definition that God Himself gave in Isaiah 58 about the meaning of fasting; in it we read about three purposes; the first purpose is that the one who fasts ’empties’ himself of everything that represents his own personality, that is, of his self-sufficiency; let us read verses 3 and 4, and then we explain: Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. (vs. 3-4). The verses clearly state that whoever fasts seeking personal benefits for himself, fasting has no significance, for his voice is not heard on high.

The first purpose of fasting is that the one who fasts ’empties’ himself of everything that represents his own personality, that is, of his self-sufficiency;

Fasting has the purpose of ‘weakening’ the flesh, meaning the self-sufficient personality, for he who does not learn to trust in the Lord, and wait for His intervention, cannot live according to faith. The flesh is a living organism, that is precisely what is meant by the term ‘living soul’, which was how the Lord defined man when He formed him,[16]  so, as such, the body has the capacity to ‘accept’ external influences, material and spiritual, many of them causing its contamination and hindrance in faith.[17]

Fasting has the purpose of ‘weakening’ the flesh, meaning the self-sufficient personality, for he who does not learn to trust in the Lord, and wait for His intervention, cannot live according to faith.

The second purpose of fasting is to remove any satanic trait that the person may still have in his inner self, let us read verse 6, and then explain:  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?  (vs. 6). That there are satanic traits even in a deliverance minister, let there be no doubt, for the apostle Paul’s teaching to the Ephesians makes this clear:that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.[18] In the first epistle of John we also read: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.[19] So, fasting has the purpose of removing any satanic traits that still remain in the person, and this must be a conscious act, in order for fasting to produce benefit.

The second purpose of fasting is to remove any satanic trait that the person may still have in his inner self,

No deliverance minister can ‘deliver’ another if he is not free first, otherwise there is a risk that the contamination in the infected person will be increased to the maximum by the irresponsibility of the deliverance minister; the biblical basis is found in the teaching of Jesus,

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:3-5

and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

2nd. Corinthians 10:6

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Matthew 10:8

The third purpose of fasting is to make us aware that God demands that we seek the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness.[20]  Fasting establishes the demand to do righteousness as a merit to establish deliverance; no one can be delivered without first doing acts of righteousness in others. Let us read verse 7, and explain: Is it not (the fast I chose) to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

The third purpose of fasting is to make us aware that God demands that we seek the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness.

The teaching that it is necessary to do acts of righteousness as a merit to establish liberation in others is a teaching established since the Old Testament, we read in the book of Deuteronomy:

And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers,

Deuteronomy 6:18

God established His statutes, decrees and commandments to give instruction by them to His people as to His character and divine Will,

17 For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: 18 he doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 10:17-19

Thus, in conclusion, fasting has the purpose of ’emptying’ ourselves of the self-sufficient personality, and knowing how to wait on God’s provision; it has the purpose of weakening the flesh so that all acquired defilements, material and spiritual, are cast off; it has the purpose of removing all satanic traits that may still exist because of the past way of living; and the purpose of making us conscious to re-evaluate our acts of Righteousness.

Having understood the meaning and value of fasting, we must now understand why Jesus instructed His disciples that this kind of demons do not come out except by prayer and fasting.

The process of deliverance is as follows. Demons do not come out of their own free will, in deliverance every demon will resist to the point of exhaustion to prevent them from being thrown out of the body they have occupied; usually the demons hold on to the manifestations of the ‘flesh’ of the body they have inhabited,[21] it is as if they throw anchors into the flesh of the body to attach themselves to it; but the strength of the faith of the one who ministers deliverance will finally cause them to be cast out.[22]

The kind of demons that come out only by prayer and fasting operate differently from the rest; this kind of demons are subject both to the ‘flesh’ of the body of the infected and to the ‘flesh’ of the body of the one who ministers deliverance; if he who ministers deliverance has not emptied himself of the personality of self-sufficiency, nor has he bent his flesh to the obedience of Christ Jesus, nor has he removed from himself every trace of Satan in him, nor has he works of Righteousness to merit his work of deliverance, he will not be able to cast out any demon for the demon is ‘anchored’ to the flesh of his own body; under these conditions the demon will not come out. The teaching is clear.

Returning to the definition of fasting in Isaiah 58. When a person seeks the Lord in prayer and fasting, under the conditions He established, we will see the following results,

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God…   5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen?…    7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,…     8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. 9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 10 and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: 11 and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor  speaking thine own words: 14 then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Isaiah 58

Let us pray and fast, let us return to the principles of the Word… this was the foundation of the church that Jesus established in Jerusalem over His twelve apostles, the church that the Lord calls ‘the Body of Christ’.

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Acts 2:42

And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.

Acts 10:4

And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

Acts 10:30

And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

Acts 14:23

Scripture quotations are taken from the Authorized King James Version, 1909 (AKJV).

Pastor Pedro Montoya

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[1]     Mark 3:15: and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

[2]     Luke 11:20: But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. (Mathew 12:28)

[3]     Hebrews 2:14-15: 14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

      1st. Corinthians 2:1-4: And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God…   4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

[4]     Romans 8:2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death..

[5]     John 8:32

[6]     Mark 3:20; 6:31

[7]     Mark 5:7-8:  7 and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

[8]     Matthew 12:44: Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

[9]     Matthew 12:28: But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. (Luke 11:20)

[10]   Luke 11:20-22:  20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22 but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

[11]   Matthew 5:25: Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

[12]   Matthew 13:19: When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

[13]   Matthew 17:21: Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. (Mark 9:29).

[14]   1 Samuel 14:24: And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.

Acts 23:12: And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

[15]   Esther 4:16: Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

[16]   Genesis 2:7: And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

[17]   2nd. Corinthians 7:1: Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

[18]   Ephesians 4:22

[19]   1st. John 1:8

[20]   Matthew 6:33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

[21]   Galatians 5:19: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Romans 8:13: For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

[22]   Luke 11:22: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians…

and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Exodus 3:8

Although He is present everywhere, and His Glory covers the earth,[1] God descends from the heavens and visits the earth from time to time, and does so to establish judgment and order in the regions where man has allowed a government of darkness to be established.

This activity of God is not new; it was part of His intention to maintain communion with man since he was placed in Eden.[2]  From there, His visit to the regions is to destroy the order of darkness that man has built as an ally of the demons. Because of this we find references of when God descended to hinder the construction of the tower of Babel;[3] when He descended because of the sin of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah;[4] when He descended to “expel” Judah and send them in captivity to Babylon because of idolatry;[5] and, the case that occupies our attention on this occasion, the time when He descended to take the children of Israel out of slavery and free them from Egypt.

God’s visitation brings judgment and awakening; judgment for those who operate according to the principles of darkness;[6] awakening for those who operate according to the Righteousness of the Kingdom.[7]  The two processes occur at the same time; in the religious media these processes are presented independently of each other; references in both the Old and New Testaments make it clear that they are two processes within the same event.

3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; 4 and the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

Ezekiel 9:3-5

5 which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 7 and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

2nd. Thessalonians 1:5-7

How do we know the times of God’s visitation?

Based on the teaching of the story of the liberation of the children of Israel from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians, the visitation of God has the following characteristics:

GOD CHOOSES A MAN OR A WOMAN TO BRING BY HIS/HER HAND JUDGMENT AND DELIVERANCE

Judgment and deliverance do not come alone; they come through the one God has chosen for that purpose. It is God’s way of operating. In the book of Exodus we read that God chose Moses and commissioned him to be the one who would establish judgment on Egypt and open the way for the deliverance of the people of Israel.

Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Exodus 3:10

There is always a person in the middle, it is the person chosen by God, it is characteristic of the operation of the Spirit of God. In several texts where they are referred to they are also defined as ‘anointed’. The apostle Peter was sent as the chosen one to establish God’s visitation to the house of Cornelius, in Caesarea;[8] the apostle Paul was sent as the chosen one to establish God’s visitation to the Gentiles, from Jerusalem to Illyricum.[9]

The person chosen by God is invested with a supernatural spiritual capacity to carry out his work, in the gospel of Matthew we read that the person that God uses as a chosen one to establish of the visitation of God is a person that possesses the ‘keys’ of the Kingdom, to open and to close the doors of the spiritual, and to subject by the spiritual warfare to the forces of darkness.[10]  Although we are all called to enter into spiritual warfare, the one who is chosen to establish by God judgment and deliverance possesses a special and higher authority than natural believers normally possess, and demons are subject to it.

God’s “visitation” establishes among those who live under the Lordship of Christ a Spirit of Revelation, as the Apostle Paul himself points out: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him:

Ephesians 1:17

The person chosen by God is usually a minister of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not necessarily the rule; God chooses who He thinks is suitable, we have biblical testimonies that in many cases the visitation of God was established through people who had no ministry. The Gadarene who was delivered from the legion of demons that tormented him for many years was chosen to introduce God’s visitation into his land.[11]  Cyrus, a Persian king, pagan according to the idolatry of his time, was chosen by God to introduce visitation in Jerusalem, and whom even God called, ‘my servant’.[12]

God’s visitation is introduced into the regions by the hand of a person chosen for that purpose; God chooses whom He wants, in most cases, whether they are ministers of the Gospel or not, they are not the favorites or the most appreciated by the public to whom they are sent.

27 but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 that no flesh should glory in his presence.

1st. Corinthians 1:27-29

Many world rulers have been chosen by God to introduce judgment and liberation, and to inaugurate a time of God’s visitation over regions of the earth, only the wise can transcend the political, and see them as such.

THE VISITATION OF GOD COMES BEFORE A TIME OF ANGUISH IN THE PEOPLE OF FAITH

Unlike what religious philosophy states, in the sense that God’s visitation is synonymous with ‘revival,’ understood as a time of Pentecostal gifts, God’s visitation actually means a time of distress, pain, scarcity, even persecution, in those who are born according to the faith of Jesus and persevere in it; the apostle Peter clearly reveals by the Spirit of Truth that God’s visitation begins ‘first’ in and through the house of God:

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

1st. Peter 4:17

The time of anguish is the ‘characteristic’ of God’s visitation to a place, the learned can discover by it the sign that God is preparing his chosen ones to manifest themselves and establish liberation and joy;[13] in the account of the teaching of the liberation of the people of Israel by the hands of the Egyptians we see it in the way that God reveals to Moses the state of His people in Egypt, we read: And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows:[14]

The Revelation that Moses receives from God is that slavery is only the visible part of a greater spiritual power that is hidden; God declares to Moses: I have surely seen the affliction of my people, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows. Affliction, cry and sorrows produced, according to the same Revelation of God reveals to Moses, by the dominion of demons in the area; God declares to Moses that the plagues have the purpose of judging the gods of Egypt.[15]

The apostle Paul also states in his doctrine, according to the Revelation of the Spirit of Truth, that tribulation is the means by which in many cases, the majority, the visitation of the Kingdom of God is established.[16]

Affliction, cry, and sorrow is a time of suffering through which the people of faith must pass in order to make it clear, in principle, that God is no respecter of persons, that at the hour of His visitation all are weighed in the same way,[17] but that each one shall receive according to the works and righteousness of their hands.[18]  The multiple stories contained in the book of Judges illustrate this characteristic of God’s visitation to the regions of the earth.[19]

GOD’S VISITATION ESTABLISHES CALL FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Religious philosophy claims to see in God’s visitation a time of awakening gifts in the style of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; however, this is not what the Bible points to as indicative of it. The visitation of God is accompanied by spiritual warfare.

The argument that Pharaoh used to subject the children of Israel to slavery was the fear of experiencing a demographic explosion on the part of the Hebrews, and that they would join their enemies in coming war on Egypt;[20] what Pharaoh feared was what came over him: war, but spiritual war that desolated Egypt.[21]  In the account of when the people of Israel came out of Egypt, we read: And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.[22] How can they be described as an ‘hosts’ having just come out of slavery? The use in the story of a ‘military’ term to refer to the people is not simply to embellish the story, it is the spiritual description of what really happened in Egypt during the time of the plagues: spiritual warfare.

Spiritual warfare is not an auxiliary knowledge of life in Christ Jesus, spiritual warfare is the evidence that the person is living within the Kingdom of Light by faith in Jesus; darkness raises daily and continuous opposition to lead him to desist from his decision to follow the teaching of Jesus.

In the book of the prophet Joel we also read of the emergence of an army that is to manifest itself in future time, this army has the characteristic of emerging to put into effect His Word, precisely in a time of visitation.[23]

In conclusion, I believe that we are living a time prior to the visitation of God, the conditions that meet these times we are living indicate that we are at the gates of a time of visitation of God very great, but lack that we can enjoy it as appropriate, in the Spirit of Truth and not under the approaches of religious philosophy that promotes local church activities. If we are not clear about what the visitation of God means, we can distort it, and instead of knowing how to establish the Kingdom, we could open doors for a time of apostasy. May the Lord open our spirits to understand.

All biblical quotations are taken from the King James Version.

Pastor Pedro Montoya

Twitter: @pastormontoya

Chat en WhatsApp

[1]     Psalm 104:1-3: 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: 3 who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

      Isaiah 2:19-21: 19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth…  21 to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

[2]     Genesis 3:8: 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

[3]     Genesis 11:5: And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

[4]     Genesis 18:21: I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

[5]     Isaiah 31:4: For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

[6]     Isaiah 10:3: And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

      Hosea 9:7:The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

      Zephaniah 1:9:In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

[7]     Malachi 4:2:But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

[8]     Acts 10:5-20: 5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: 6 he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.…   19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

[9]     Romans 15:19: through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

[10]   Matthew 16:17-19: 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

[11]   Luke 8:38-39: 38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.

[12]   Isaiah 44:28:that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

[13]   Psalm 30:11: Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

[14]   Exodus 3:7

[15]   Exodus 12:12: For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

[16]   Acts 14:22: confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

[17]   2 Kings 21:13:And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

[18]   2 Samuel 22:21:The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness:
according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

      Galatians 6:8: For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

[19]   Judges 2:16-18: Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so. 18 And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

[20]   Exodus 1:8-10:Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

[21]   Exodus 10:7: And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

      Exodus 12:36:and the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

[22]   Exodus 12:41

[23]   Joel 2:11:and the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Spiritual warfare, the resource to grow in faith

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle (ἡ πάλη: fight of strength) not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ephesians 6:11-12

Spiritual warfare is seen in many Christian circles as an auxiliary knowledge of life in Christ Jesus, useful to know, but not necessary to reach salvation; therefore, many men and women of faith do not consider it a subject of transcendent study to grow in the life of faith; however, there are quite a few testimonies of the Spirit of Truth in the Scriptures that testify to the contrary; the most notable testimony is the one we find in the epistle of the apostle Paul to the community of faith in Ephesus: Put on the full armor of God, for we have a struggle (ἡ πάλη: struggle of strength) against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the world, the governors of this darkness, against spiritual wickedness in the air.

The teaching that the apostle presents in the epistle on the ‘armor of God’ is not a study in spiritual warfare, that is not the task of the apostle in writing the epistle; the teaching is aimed at instructing those who have believed in Jesus on how to live the life of faith according to the Gospel of the proclamation of Peace.[1]  The apostle’s mission is to teach the Gentiles of Ephesus how to free themselves from the pagan way of life to which they were accustomed in the old way of living.[2]  Note, however, that in the teaching introduced by the epistle, the apostle links spiritual warfare with faith, as if both had the same function of forming life in the Gospel; that is, as if both exercises –spiritual warfare and faith– were the daily way of living life in Christ Jesus. This way of Paul presenting spiritual warfare and faith together under the same instruction on how to live the life in Christ Jesus leads us to establish, without a doubt, that a life of faith cannot be developed without taking into account that faith is to face the fiery darts of the evil one, which leads us to understand that faith is spiritual warfare, without discussion.

The basis of this teaching of Paul is the continuity of the work of proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom that the apostle established during his stay in the city of Ephesus.[3]

Thus, according to this teaching, life of faith and spiritual warfare are doctrines of character formation for those who have been born of the Spirit according to the Gospel of Jesus; in these, note, faith is defined as a “shield”,[4] not a weapon of attack but a weapon of defense, which leads us to the understanding that spiritual warfare is not solely about “rebuking” Satan, nor is it solely directed at waging battle against satanic possessions; spiritual warfare is the resistance that one who has believed in Jesus puts up against Satan to prevent him from continuing to use his life as an instrument of iniquity.[5]  Note that this teaching is not exclusive to Paul’s doctrinal theology; the apostle James writes in fairly similar terms, which shows us that this teaching was the general content of the doctrine of the gospel:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

Spiritual warfare is the faith resource developed in and by the Spirit of Truth to strengthen the spiritual growth of the man and woman who have believed in Jesus.[6]

The man and woman of faith become strong in the Spirit not behind a desk seeking information about the life of faith, they become strong in facing and resisting all the darts of the enemy, taking refuge in the Truth of Jesus’ teachings. He who submits himself to the Lordship of Christ but does not resist the devil, is equivalent to the soldier who does not carry his shield, at some time the darts of the enemy will strike him, and he will perish: taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

The life of faith does not consist in ‘attacking’ Satan, nor in destroying the kingdom of darkness, the life of faith consists in being ‘witnesses’ to the super-eminent greatness of God’s power that worked in Christ Jesus, raising him from the dead, and placing him at the right hand of the Father in heaven;[7] in doing this, as recorded in the teaching of Jesus, the gates of hell will not prevail against the advancement in faith of his saints.[8]  The kingdom of darkness is destroyed by the testimony of faith.[9] 

The life of faith in Jesus consists in establishing on earth the principles of Heaven, in the face of which there is no frontal attack great enough to bring down a man or woman of faith.[10]  The life in Christ Jesus is a life of faith.

Faith is spiritual warfare because, as the apostle Paul rightly stated, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.; but it is a warfare that is waged from resistance to all that seeks to lead man and woman to walk in opposition to the teachings of Jesus. This spiritual warfare consists of taking away from Satan all ‘legal rights’ that allow him to operate in the same environment of faith; a theology that teaches the believer to ‘rebuke’ the devil is useless if it does not first instruct him on how to cancel the actions that give Satan ‘rights’ to operate in their environment.

Faith is born of restored character in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ; the legal right that Satan uses to continue to operate in a faith environment is the same ambiguity of mind that still persists in the heart of the believer.[11]  Apostasy is precisely a double doctrinal position; in Jesus’ words, apostasy is the tares sown in a wheat field.[12]

Another testimony of the Spirit of Truth that spiritual warfare is the resource for growth in faith is found in Paul’s exhortation to Timothy: “fight the good fight of faith”.

Fight (ἀγωνίζου) the good fight (ἀγῶνα) of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1st. Timothy 6:12

In this exhortation, the apostle is defining spiritual warfare as the conscious ‘effort’ to do God’s Will. Fight’ means ‘strive’ to establish the Will of God. The expression used by the apostle reflects an ‘agonizing’ effort, that is, an effort carried to the ultimate consequences.[13]  The good fight of faith, then, means the strength born of the knowledge of God’s call that is imposed on all spiritual resistance that seeks to stop the work of faith. According to this teaching, faith is born of the personal decision to go beyond the limits of sacrifice –state of agony, according to the term used by the apostle– until the work demanded of us by the Spirit is completed. Faith overcomes all resistance put up by the kingdom of darkness; faith is understanding that nothing and no one can stop the work of the Lord, but understanding, above all, that we are charged with watching over it. Faith is not just waiting for things to be fulfilled, faith demands active participation. In the epistle to the Hebrews we find this same exhortation in almost the same words.

3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

Hebrews 12:3-5

The apostle Paul’s exhortation to Timothy can be paraphrased as follows: “Sacrifice yourself to the point of agony in order to win this spiritual battle of faith; on it depends the Eternal Life for which you were called, having borne witness before many witnesses”. Faith is activated when man and woman enter into spiritual warfare. Faith is not to faint because of those who have piety for the sake of pomp,[14] faith is to continue proclaiming the virtues of the one who called us out of darkness into the wonderful Light even though we do not see the results of our action of faith.[15]

In the teachings established by the apostle Paul, spiritual warfare is not always referred to as a frontal fight against the forces of darkness, the apostle warns that the demons use alternate forms to hide so that they cannot be ‘rebuked’ for their actions; the apostle describes several forms of attack used by demons, the first of which is persecution, in his epistle to the Philippians, we read:

having the same conflict (ἀγῶνα) which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Philippians 1:30

The reference that the apostle makes in this text from Philippians is with regard to the persecution he suffered during his stay in the city of Philippi,[16] persecution that he still suffers at the time of writing the epistle; the text can be paraphrased as follows: “having similar suffering to Christ, as you have seen when I was among you, and as you have been notified, that I still have“. Faith is the participation with the sufferings of Jesus Christ,[17] in others of his written faith is presented as perseverance and joy.[18]

Another way demons use to attack those who live a life of faith in Jesus is by the introduction of false doctrine, in the epistle to the Colossians we read about the sorrow in the apostle to learn of those who introduce false doctrine into the community of faith, and to be powerless to intervene personally:

For I would that ye knew what great conflict (ἀγῶνα) I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;

Colossians 2:1

What the apostle is facing can be understood in the following paraphrased translation that we have prepared: “I want you to know how great a conflict I have for not being with you, for those of Laodicea, and for all those I do not know personally. I would like to be with you to strengthen your hearts, and to lead you in love, that you may understand and not give up the riches of the revealed knowledge of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.”

The apostle is transmitting the sorrow that is in his heart because of the threat that is hanging over those communities –Laodicea and Colossae– false doctrinal threat that attempts to make them desist from the knowledge of the Gospel that they received through Epaphras, and that has made them stand out as communities of faith in Christ Jesus, and for the love that they show to all the saints that have visited the community.[19]

What Paul is manifesting is his powerlessness not to confront in person those who are introducing teachings that distort sound doctrine in the region. Paul has discovered that behind some of the teachings that the believers of Colosse and Laodicea have received in recent visits from Judaizing preachers, there are teachings that attempt to disrupt the knowledge of Truth, about God incarnate and manifested in Jesus. Spiritual warfare is present in the denunciation of every introduction of apostate doctrine, for not to denounce it means to allow it, which makes us participants in it, according to the apostle John.[20]  In this case the apostle confronted it through the epistles sent to both communities.[21]  Faith is the result of zeal for the work of God; spiritual warfare is aimed at combating all apostate doctrine.

Spiritual warfare is not waged only by ‘rebuking’ demons, as we have seen in the previous cases, there are situations that do not allow it, and not because of that one who has believed in Jesus must refrain from entering into spiritual warfare; spiritual warfare is waged on the basis of the testimony of faith, in the epistle to the Hebrews, we read:

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race (ἀγῶνα)  that is set before us,

Hebrews 12:1

The ‘race’ to which the apostle refers is the struggle against the spirit of sin that is present in the environments we frequent; the ‘weight of sin’ consists of the arguments of deception and falsehood on which the societies of the cities in which we live have been built, arguments of deception and falsehood that demand that we behave according to their philosophies of life. Faith is to reject every philosophy of life that cannot be explained according to the teachings of the Word of Truth.

In his final statement, late in his life, the apostle identified that spiritual warfare is in reality the ‘good’ battle of faith, thus making it clear that spiritual warfare is in reality the faith resource developed in and by the Spirit of Truth to strengthen the spiritual growth of the man and woman who have believed in Jesus. He who desists from entering into spiritual warfare, discards his faith growth.

I have fought (ἠγώνισμαι)  a good fight (ἀγῶνα), I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

2nd. Timothy 4:7

A third testimony to the value of spiritual warfare as a resource for growth in faith is the way the apostle describes the supernatural results obtained by those who entered into disproportionate battles to defeat all their adversaries, striving only on the promise God had given them, that through them great deliverance would be established on earth:

33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Hebrews 11:33-34

In the first verses of the chapter he emphasizes that without faith it is impossible to please God, and he defines under that very statement, that faith is the conviction that he who comes to God believes that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him, thus emphasizing that all they achieved was not on their own merit, but because they held fast to the knowledge they had of who God is,[22] and to the knowledge of the Truth of His Word.[23]  Faith is clinging to the knowledge of the Sovereignty of God, if God said it, He will do it, and we will carry it out.[24]

When a person who has begun a life of faith in Jesus does not know about spiritual warfare, every vicissitude he faces he will see in it, or a trial or a temptation, all depending on alternate knowledge he possesses, but he will hardly see in it the God-established way of growing and strengthening in faith; many people even, when faced with these types of setbacks, desist from continuing to develop in their spiritual growth.[25]

Spiritual warfare is not an auxiliary knowledge of life in Christ Jesus, spiritual warfare manifests itself in the opposition that the person suffers in all his daily and everyday activities, to lead him to desist from his decision to follow the teaching of Jesus; and he will be confronted, whether he wants to or not, whether he understands about it or not, because by being Light for Jesus he will represent a threat to the forces of darkness; the difference of knowing about the subject is that by becoming aware of the reality of the spiritual struggle, and what it represents for the faith, the person will face every situation with the joy of knowing that he is fighting the battles of Jehovah,[26] and his action against the spiritual hosts of evil will be with wisdom and much more forceful.

The faith that is built on the activity of spiritual warfare is the faith that moves mountains to the sea

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Matthew 21:21

All biblical quotations are taken from the King James Version.

Pastor Pedro Montoya

Twitter: @pastormontoya

Chat en WhatsApp

[1]     Ephesians 2:14-17: For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; …   17 and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

[2]     Ditto 4:21-24: 21 if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

[3]     Acts 19:9-12:  9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. 10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. 11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

[4]     Ephesians 6:16: above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

[5]     Romans 6:13-19: 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. …  19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

[6]     Ephesians 6:10: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 

[7]     Ditto 1:19-20

[8]     Mathew 16:18. See also Genesis 22:17: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

[9]     Revelation 12:11: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

[10]   Mathew 7:24-25: 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

[11]   Luke 9:62: And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

[12]   Mathew 13:24-30

[13]   1st. Thessalonians 2:2: but even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention (ἀγῶνι).

[14]   Read the context of the chapter.

[15]   Isaiah 53:1: Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

[16]   Acts 16:12-40: 12 and from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.…   19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, 20 and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, 21 and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. 22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24 who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

[17]   Philippians 1:29: For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; Philippians 3:10: that I may know him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

[18]   Romans 5:3: And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;   2 Corinthians 4:17: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

[19]   Paul refers to a possible visit by Mark, Barnabas’ nephew: Colossians 4:10

[20]   2nd. John 9-11: 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

[21]   Colossians 4:16: And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

[22]   Jeremiah 9:24: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

[23]   Titus 1:2: in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

[24]   Psalm 60:12: Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies. Psalm 108:13: Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

[25]   Mathew 13:20-22: 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

[26]   Numbers 21:14; 2 Chronicles 32:8; Isaiah 30:32; Judges 3:1; 1 Samuel 18:17; 25:28

Did Donald Trump really lose the 2020 presidential election?

Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;…  4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: 6 that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:1-6

It is known to all that last Tuesday, November 3rd of this year, presidential elections were held in the United States of America, the result still in development, displaces the current president, Donald Trump, to continue leading the presidency for his second term.

The results generated from that date have a spiritual and prophetic value for the people of God, because we have the confirmation by the Spirit of Truth that Donald Trump fulfills a mission of prophetic fulfillment on earth, which consists of establishing upon Israel the time of restoration of all things prophesied from ancient times,[1] and certified by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans.[2]

Even before Donald Trump began his first term in office, Jewish Rabbi Hamekubal Rab Kuk assured that Donald Trump would win the election, and that as president, he would play an important role in the arrival of ‘Mashiach Ben David’;[3]  From there, others began to identify that Trump as president would follow a similar trajectory to the one followed by ‘Cyrus’ with respect to Israel after the end of the transportation to Babylon;[4] As far as I am concerned, the Lord has allowed me to understand that Donald Trump is “the man that executeth my counsel” who fulfills a prophetic purpose of restoring Jerusalem as the capital of the Kingdom, a theme we developed in connection with his first trip to the Middle East.[5] 

So, the theme of the 2020 elections in the United States of America becomes important not only because of the political phenomenon that has developed around the counting of votes, but more so, because if Donald Trump has not completed his spiritual commission from the Lord, to be ‘displaced’ would mean a truncation of the prophetic realization about Israel, and more seriously, it would mean an open rebellion of the American people to God’s visitation of that nation.

What is really behind this whole political operation that seeks to displace Donald Trump from the presidency of the United States?

The recognition that Joe Biden is the winner of the electoral race, news released on Saturday, November 7, by most of the nation’s news agencies, represents a ‘coup d’état’ against President Donald Trump, and a ‘hypnotic’ way that the media is using to move large masses of people and lead them to follow a pattern of violent behavior, according to the subliminal algorithm suggested in their own press releases; This situation has a spiritual weight and it is of the utmost importance that men and women of faith know it, because it means that the media, mostly the news agencies, are emerging as the sources of information that will cause the masses to turn against the communities of faith. We will begin to see this more frequently starting next year.

The media are launching a campaign from the darkness to activate in the air the demonic forces of evil prepared for this time, to introduce violence and chaos into the nation.

But the media are not acting alone, they are just the tip of the iceberg; this ‘fraud’ scheme that has come to light, which introduced absentee ballots under the names of deceased people, and originated electronic ‘issues’ to intentionally read ballots under the name of Joe Biden, etc., is part of a Masonic operation that in the United States, and other industrialized countries, has taken center stage as part of the satanic agenda to take nations of the world and establish in and by them, an operation of iniquity and remove all possibility of prophecy being fulfilled.

The men and women of Revelation must understand that these final times there will be a ‘clandestine’ persecution originated by the Masonic movements, persecution not only means opposition, but in several cases, support, cooperation, even economic aid; such situations must be denounced immediately, the apostle Peter calls this satanic way of operating, the way of Balaam,

which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

2nd. Peter 2:15

The situation generated by the results of the presidential election in the United States of America is not only an isolated issue that concerns the citizens of that nation, it is an issue that affects us all,[6] ignoring it takes us away from “things that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man“;[7]  we are facing a true spiritual war that is being fought in the air of the American nation to take control of world government, it is necessary that the army of the Living God stands in the gap through prayer and intercession, so that direct help comes from heaven and clears the air over the United States of America.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

1st. Timothy 2:1-3

All biblical quotations are taken from the King James Version.

Pastor Pedro Montoya

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[1]     Jeremiah 23:6: In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our righteousness. Jeremiah 33:16: In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness. Jeremiah 46:27: But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

[2]     Romans 11:25: For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

[3]     https://israelnoticias.com/judaismo/guematria-nombre-donald-trump

[4]     https://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbrown/2020/07/09/what-you-dont-know-about-donald-trump-and-the-king-cyrus-prophecy-n2572155;

[5]     https://earthenwarevessels.com/2018/11/19/the-relevance-of-the-date-of-donald-trumps-first-presidential-trip/

[6]     Esther 4:12-14: 12 And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words. 13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. 14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

[7]     1st. Corinthians 2:9