Enemy Territory

I know most of us have traveled to a strange place and after a few days the surroundings became oddly familiar to us. As humans, we are very adaptive to new environments and situations. I believe God has wired us this way. Some of us are more adaptive than others, yet we all have some capacity for this adaptive nature. I have unpacked my bags and made myself at home in many different situations.

Most all of us have unpacked our bags and made this fallen world our home. Even as Christians, we have adapted and hardened ourselves to its destructive nature not realizing it is actually enemy territory. I believe at some point this will become very apparent even for the nominal adherents of our faith.

The world we live in has become even more crazy over the last year and a half. It is the topic of many our conversations. Our leaders around the world seem to gather in a room to find the worst solutions and then decide to implement them. The result is chaos.

Theologically, I have known something for decades but now it is profoundly clear; we are in enemy territory. As Christians, we are not of this world. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God where Jesus Christ is the King of all kings with no rival. Satan is the ruler of this fallen world and hates Jesus and his followers.

Paul in his letter to the Christians in Ephesus related this truth, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-2 NKJV).

And Jesus said this about Satan, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (John 14:30 NKJV).

Yes, my brothers and sisters of the Kingdom of God, realize the truth of this—we are in enemy territory. In times past, the church has cozied up to the world, desired to be accepted in its social circles, and courted public opinion in cultural matters. This friendship with the world is coming to a head and to an end—read the Bible and you will see.

Furthermore, and to the point, Jesus said the world will actually hate Christians because it hated Him. “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. / If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (Words of Jesus just before His crucifixion, John 15:18-19 NKJV).

We find it very frustrating because some of the most destructive views we see in our world today seemingly cannot be resolved by debate or social discourse. Those promoting these illogical and historically damning views appear to be incapable of being persuaded by logic and reason. I believe the reason lies in the fact, many are blinded by the enemy of mankind, Satan himself who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. Many leaders of governments, academia, organizations, and corporations are puppets on a demonic string without even knowing.

I am not one who sees a demon under every rock. I am not advocating insurrection, violence, or even a political solution. It has become more obvious to me that too many leaders either have a wrong world view or lack the courage to stand for the correct world view. Most are just jockeying for power, money, and control with their citizenry only valued for their vote and taxes.

What to make of this? If you are a Christian, realize you are living in enemy territory in this world. Your hope should not be in economic, political, or military conquest, but this is a spiritual battle for the hearts and souls of mankind. There is a direct correlation between the affairs of this world and the dynamics at work in the spiritual realm. Our battle is in the spiritual realm.

A great biblical example is in Daniel 10:1-14. Here is a short synopsis of the narrative. Daniel was an Israelite captive who served in the Persian government, who ruled most of the civilized world at the time. He began 21 days of fasting and prayer for the situation in his world. On the 24th day, an angel of God manifested himself to Daniel. He told Daniel from the first day of his fasting and praying that he (the angel) began to make his way to Daniel, but the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” resisted him. The prince of Persia was not an earthly prince, but a demonic principality assigned to the kingdom of Persia.

I know this is heavy stuff. But it is time that we as Christians get our heads out of the carnal sand and get our spiritual hearts and minds into the spiritual reality of this world and beyond. We can move mountains with our prayers of faith. It is time we crank up our bulldozers of prayer and move some mountains.

What do we do? Open our eyes to the reality around us. Get right with God. Repent of our sins. Embrace Jesus as our crucified Savior and resurrected Lord as never before. Set our focus on spiritual things not the carnal pursuits of this world. Pray and fast. Lead and disciple those in our circles of influence to seek God, His Word, and to be led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Make solid connections with other Christians. Preach the Gospel and evangelize. Live in peace, pray for the worldly “kings” set over us, and pray for those who may persecute us. Simplify our lives because this world is not our home.

My posts are often pastoral. Today it is prophetic. The persecutors are lining up. Are we, the people of God, praying and preparing?

Yours on the Journey,

Harry L. Whitt