Armed Prophets Win!
In Todays Spiritual Battlefield Christians Must Learn to Leverage the Power of the Holy Spirit!
One of the many fascinating aspects of the movie Nefarious was a scene where a Chaplain visited the demon-possessed inmate. Initially, the demon was terrified at the thought of a devout believer coming to counsel him. But after a few minutes, the demon quickly realized that the Chaplain was not a Christian. He did not have the Holy Spirit residing in him. The demon saw it immediately and dressed the non-believer down to size. The demons know who’s who in the zoo. The Book of Acts tells a similar story when a group of false prophets was trying to exorcise a demon,” and the devil” said to them:
And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you”? Acts 19:15
Instead of exorcising the demon, the demon beat the living tar out of the Jewish Exorcist. As a recovering old Soldier, I often attempt to see the world through a lens of mortal or human warfare. But now that I am armed with the power of the Holy Ghost and trying to learn to leverage Him, I attempt to see the world through a spiritual lens, or as I like to call it, through “Kingdom Eyes.” When we think of the power of the Holy Spirit, we don't think of power in terms of the ability to see our enemy Satan. Being able to see in mortal warfare is essential; being able to view our ongoing spiritual war is paramount. Having “Holy Ghost Goggles” gives you a more profound vision than any artificial intelligence glasses worn by Peter Parker in the Avengers. And this type of power in the spiritual domain far exceeds anything we can imagine in the earthly realm.
In 1513, Niccolò di Bernardo di Machiavelli wrote the book “The Prince.” Machiavelli was considered a brilliant military and political strategist in his day. All aspiring young Army Majors have read some form of Machiavelli at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Machiavelli also wrote the "The Art of War." Many of Machiavelli’s ideas on mortal warfare adhere to spiritual warfare. Ironically in "The Art of War”, he would endorse going back to a Roman Army construct and doctrine emphasizing the use of foot soldiers and the value of Cavalry reconnaissance.[i] It sounds like a “Spreading the Gospel Technique” straight from the Book of Acts.
Indeed, we need foot Soldiers in the Army of the Lord. Still, more than foot Soldiers, we need surveillance or the ability to "see." Machiavelli would further contend that the aim of war must center on facing the enemy in the field and defeating him there; “this is the only way to bring a war to a happy conclusion.”[ii] Hence another principle we can glean in fighting our enemy Satan. Yes, defeat him in the field. Satan: "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour[iii] The “Field” may not be a “Field of Battle” like Machiavelli’s reference. The “Field” could be a determined Wahabis Satanic-filled suicide bomber in Babylon, Iraq, a Nuclear-Armed Kim Jong Un, a racist Governor allowing abortions at will and castration of small children, an Alt White Antifa Anarchist, or a murderous “Trans Demon.” Facing and defeating the enemy in the “field’ could be at work, school, home, struggling with addictions, a bad relationship, or on a social media platform.
Few General officers would admit it today in the U.S. military, but Machiavellian philosophies still ring eerily in parts of current Army doctrine and the halls of the Pentagon. Perhaps, Machiavelli's most relevant work on spiritual warfare is “The Prince.” “The Prince” is a political dissertation examining the actions and character of four leaders that founded new regimes, and he refers to them as Prophets. One of those prophets was Moses.[iv] Machiavelli argues that God grants absolute and unquestionable authority to Moses, from which Moses derives his ultimate power. A feat not repeated in the Bible[v] until the arrival of Jesus Christ.
Machiavelli maintains that “armed’ prophets always succeed or win. He also portrays other armed prophets or armed with tremendous military or combat power as Armed Prophets. And they, like Moses, derived predictive ability by making their predictions a reality, leveraging their armed power, and succeeding. Likewise, he infers that Moses was an Armed Prophet, not with swords, arrows, or artillery, instead of the absolute authority from God. And this authority was more potent than any actual "arms" as in weapons or any Army on the earth; ask Pharaoh.
What power Moses had was a foretaste of what God would give us through His Son Jesus after Pentecost—the power of the Holy Ghost. Moses got God’s power from his ability to see. Moses was not afraid and could see the unseen.
In the King's Domain or God's Kingdom, if you can see, you have courage, and with courage, you have power. The Book of Hebrews describes Moses this way: By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who was invisible.[vi] (Hebrews 11:27)
Despite being a murdering old, cranky, stuttering shepherd. Moses would walk into Pharaoh’s court and say, "Let my people go"! And then lead the most significant movement across land and sea in the history of the world. Yes, sea—the ocean, because with God's power, he would depart it. Picture an eighty-year-old man leading over two million Jews who had never been out of Egypt.
When you think about Moses' feat of leadership, it was like no other, simply remarkable. He would Go Bold! During this time, Moses would part the Red Sea, defeat Pharaoh’s Army, be the only human in History to see God himself, and then bring the ten commandments down from Mount Sanai, to name a few. Imagine how hard it was to lead, motivate, and move former slaves without formal education with women, children, and the elderly. It wasn’t like Moses was leading an Army of young, muscular men.
From some perspective, moving an Army Brigade Combat team of six thousand Soldiers is complicated and complex; feeding and caring for them is even more difficult. This is where God’s granted power comes to play.
The Book of Exodus talks about raining bread to feed the Israelites. But the Israelites would whine to Moses because they didn’t have meat. Raining bread is miraculous, but raining meat? I’m sure Moses is thinking no way; that’s a lot of cows, sheep, or fish. The Lord said to Moses: “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight, you will eat meat, and you will be filled with bread in the morning. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God. That evening quail came and covered the camp…’”[vii] (Exodus 16:12). Quail? No one in their right mind would have thought of raining Quail.
Part of learning to leverage God's power is learning to leverage his perspective and context. There are good ideas, and there are God’s ideas. God’s ideas can move two million uneducated slaves across a continent and feed them an all-you-can-eat bread and meat buffet. As Pastor Mark Batterson likes to say: “It’s a little cloudy and with 100% chance of Quail.” Moses did all this with God’s blessing because he could “see.”
The number one question I get asked as a Pastor is: How can I see God’s will in my life? I find this asked more from Generations Y and Z, the twenties to forties somethings. It makes sense; it only took me forty-eight years to find God’s purpose. Remember that everyone on the planet’s purpose is to Glorify God, period! We exist to glorify Him.
Many people have a problem with that profound statement. Recognizing God’s glory requires humility. Because it's never about us, it's all about Him. The Holy Ghost is most potent in me when I am humble. Whether fighting Wahabis in Babylon, trying to break out of the Devil's Jail with alcoholism, witnessing a convicted murderer, or teaching at Vacation Bible School. When Disciples of Jesus humbly submit to God—God arms us to do His bidding! Moses’ humility enabled him to be an Armed Prophet that won! When we live to glorify God, He arms us to win!
NOTES
[i] Paret, Peter, "Makers of Modern Strategy from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age," Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1986, p.22,23.
[ii] Machiavelli, Niccolò, Art of War, Trans. Ellis Farnesworth. Da Capo Press edition, 2001, with an introduction by Neal Wood. This discussion follows the battle description in Book 3 of The Art of War. “…non condurra’ mai una Guerra aonore, “ from book 1.
[iii] The Holy Bible, 1 Peter 5:8
[iv] Machiavelli, Niccolò. “The Prince” (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), p. 24.
[v] Ibid.22.
[vi] The Holy Bible, Hebrews 11:27
[vii] The Holy Bible, Exodus 16:11-12
The great Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi once said: "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." In our business, "Winning" is everything! Everything in God's design of this universe is about winning souls to expand His Kingdom. We are fighting a war like none other against our enemy Satan. You and I are Disciples of King Jesus, and if you are in His will, He will arm you to the teeth with His Spirit. "Armed Prophets Win"!