CoronaVirus & Birth Pains of Revival

Often what we see in the natural realm is but a birth pain to what is actually going on in the unseen realm. In truth-it is the unseen realm that is more true and enduring. Yet with most, their senses are dull and they can only comprehend that which they can see. 

In January of 2019, I released a prophetic word, (which can be viewed on my website) in that word- I prophesied a great move of God that would be accompanied by a calamity coming to America and along with that, the stock market would travail. It was then around Oct of 2019 that once again the Spirit revealed to me (which I did not feel cleared to release at that time) of an unusual disease or virus about to come upon the scene that would be confusing to many, especially the medical field. 

As I write this now it seems the entire nation and most of the world are reeling in fear and panic as these things have begun to come to pass and we are now in the midst of this ‘Wuhan/Coronavirus’ pandemic.

However, what is truly at play here is the manifestation in the spirit realm of great warfare the by-product of malevolent forces clashing with the Host of Heaven. 

This is what must be discerned in the spirit realm.  This nation and the rest of the world is on the brink and even in the midst of the greatest move of God ever to have kissed the face of this planet. Make no mistake- all of hell opposes this.  They can sense the shift in the second heaven and have retaliated. Fear has gripped the hearts of men- pestilence has been unleashed and panic has crashed world markets. 

With every real and substantial revival that has ever been poured out upon planet earth, it has often come during a period of unrest and tribulation in the natural realm.  Warfare and revolution accompanied the first great awakening. The civil war courted the second great awakening, accompanied by great tribulation. During Azusa, the nation once again was coming out of the Spanish American war and the recent assassination of President McKinley. WWI would soon follow with the Spanish influenza. It was the great stock market crash of 1929 followed by the Great Depression and WWII that served as the incubator to the massive Voice of Healing outpouring. 

It is not that God sends the calamity but rather it is a demonic manifestation of resistance and protest against the Kingdom of God invading the earth. It is however, that the Lord will indeed use and allow these circumstances to put a hook in the jaw of a hard hearted and rebellious humanity. In the midst of these trials the Holy Spirit will convince mankind of his futility and hopelessness outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ. In these times, Yahweh will draw men unto Himself as humanity realizes that they can do nothing without God.  

This move that we are upon will be marked by a massive influx of souls and a mighty demonstration of the power of God.  There is a season upon us now , of supernatural signs and wonders wrought by the hands of a nazirite generation declaring like the women at the well ‘Come see a man...is this not the Christ’ 

Recently my wife had a prophetic dream:

She was in Ireland on a mission trip. In the dream she was accompanied by a group of people, men and women from various nationalities.They were at an airport and were being held up with passport issues and then were finally permitted to leave. Then the dream scene changed and they were at a house and someone came up to her and said ‘Do you know who those people are your with...they are not good people’ 

Jen responded...’I don’t care what they’ve done in the past. They are born again and their past is deleted. It’s under the blood of Jesus now’ Then she walked away from that individual who was clearly uncomfortable with the background of the new believers. 

She then noticed that people were gathering at a window and looking out. They were looking over at the neighbors house (who was a believer in Christ) this neighbor had turned her pool red symbolizing the blood of Jesus. Now everyone was gathering and converging  at the neighbors house to see this sight  and the neighbor was eagerly inviting people over to see it. When my wife  got over there she noticed many people around the pool and they seemingly were upset. They were upset because a young girl who was disabled was near the pool and the people were trying to prevent her from going near it.  They claimed she would be hurt. 

Aggrieved at the people’s complaints my wife spoke up and said ‘she will be fine. She just needs someone to ‘hold her hand’

Then the scene changed to a dark parking lot and a person to her side collapsed. She recognized that the person was dead and they were covered by debris. Immediately she  then started rebuking death and told the unbelieving people to leave and compelled the remaining ones to pray. She continued to speak life and rebuke death and the the woman who collapsed opened her eyes and was alive again. 

Often my wife will dream prophetically and I will get the interpretation by the Spirit of the Lord. Here is the interpretation I believe. 

The mission trip represents the call of God and mission to reach the world. The different nationalities represents the influx of every people and kindred. The passport  issue represents the enemies attempt to stop it but will fail to stop it. 

Then the scene with the person criticizing the background of the people represents the religious people who are made uncomfortable by the dramatic conversions of those with ‘horrible backgrounds’ 

I believe this dream may speak to a move of God coming into the earth now. A move that will be marked by an intense missions movement into all the world and it will be marked by dramatic conversions of people that you would never think could be saved. This will ruffle the feathers of the religious. 

I also believe it speaks to a turn towards organic Christianity where neighbors are crying out ‘come see a man’ this symbolizes the pool being turned to the blood of Jesus and then invites everyone over. I believe that neighborhood and organic evangelism is going to be key. 

The religious folk however still showed up at the pool and were trying to keep the disabled girl from it. 

This move will also be marked with dramatic signs and wonders which speaks to the dead being raised in public.  

In summary let me encourage you that this current epidemic of both pandemic and fear will not prevail. The hand of the Lord will be established. The church like Isaiah 60 thunders,  will ‘arise and shine’ and the glory of the Lord will be seen upon it. Though darkness covers the earth and deep darkness the people, the glory of the Lord Most High will be seem upon the church. 

As I observe what is going on in the physical realm, I am comforted by the fact that the Lord is our portion and this is but a sign of revival.  

Now is the time for the church to arise. To preach-to pray-to prophesy- to point hurting and helpless humanity to the cross of Jesus Christ. This is our finest hour. Now is not the time to shrink back. Now is the time to lay hands on the sick and see them recover. Now is the time to cast out demons, set the captives free  and raise the dead. 

The answer to a scared world is a church endued with power from on High. In fact the crisis doesn’t reduce the need for your oil- it reveals it. 

-Chad MacDonald

Whats on The Inside of You

As I survey the landscape of much of the church and the nation as a whole, it seems that panic and fear has paralyzed many. How is this possible, I ask myself. While I cannot blame those outside of the church for giving into pandemonium and panic. There is an indictment surely to be levied against those who claim to possess the truth of the gospel. The greatest threat to the body of Christ and even our nation, is not the #Wuhan or #Coronavirus. The greatest threat comes from nominal Christianity. We live in an era when vast segments of supposed believers don’t even know the word of God. If asked, they probably couldn’t even name all 66 books of the Bible. Let alone have large portions of scripture memorized and etched into their souls. Truly sad. For many, the only time they even hear a scripture is possibly on a Sunday morning. And that is even if they happen to attend a church that actually preaches from the Bible. It’s quite to contrast when you consider Islam. In Islam most actually spend time memorizing large portions of the Koran. In fact many actually have memorized the entire book. How disciplined they are, and they don’t even possess absolute truth. We possess the Holy Scripture-God breathed and inerrant word of Almighty God. Yet we consider it so flippantly. So today I challenge you, in the midst of a society propagating fear. Get the word of God on the inside of you. Memorize it. Cherish it. Declare it. Believe it. The word of God is the sword of the Spirit and it is your very weapon to wield against every spirit, onslaught, calamity, trial, and tribulation that may assail you. The word of God will not fail! Learn it. Jesus said... “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63

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Overweight Christians

Overweight Christians

 

I'm so tired of constantly hearing about how 'the devil' is doing this or that or attacking you this way or that way.

It's as if the devil is a school yard bully who constantly is shaking some Christians down for lunch money on a daily basis.

 

This ought not be so!

 

I'm not looking for the person who wakes up and immediately begins to bemoan the calamity the devil has planned for them. 

I'm interested in finding a fire baptized believer who when the moment their eyes pop open in the morning and feet hit the ground, every devil shrieks with anxiety. 

 

You're not called to perpetually have your spiritual lunch money stolen.  In fact you're called to be the one who is stealing the devil's lunch money and eating his sandwich. 

 

James 4:7 thunders, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

 

The word in this instance for resist does not mean to passively resist. It does not mean you're supposed to be the only one receiving blows. It does not mean to just hold on and if you will endure, eventually the devil will give up and move on. 

 

The word for resist here means to violently assault. To oppose in the same manner a Greek wrestler or Roman soldier would go to battle.

Actually it has another meaning as well..

It means to outweigh!

 

It is always dangerous to go up against a fighter that outweighs you. 

 

In boxing and wrestling, fighters are routinely weighed before a bout to ensure that the heavier warrior does not have an unfair advantage. To be hit with the full force and strength of the much heavier fighter can have devastating effects.

 

It's good to be overweight!

 

In fact you outweigh the devil!

 

Do you not realize that "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world".

Do you not realize that if you are filled with the Holy Spirit you have a distinct fighting advantage!

 

It's time to get off your rear ends and put your foot on the neck of the devil.

You can't loose! You have all the weight of heaven on your side!

 

It's time to get off that spiritual vegan diet and put on some weight!

You born for the fight and destined for victory!

 

#Getinthefight

#RevivalFire

Soldier Up

 

“These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭12:1-3‬ ‭

 

You are called to possess the land! 

It's time for war- It's time for a revolution!

It's time to root out and destroy, it's time to tear down- 

So that God can build and plant!

It's time to take back everything the devil has stolen! You are Gods enforcement agent and it's time to tell the enemy that he is a squatter and is an illegal! 

It's time to tear down strongholds and invade enemy held territory! It's time to impose the Kingdom! The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. 

It's time to take our homes back- our churches back-our cities back-our nation back! It's time to take the world back! 

The only thing that will do this is the power of the Holy Ghost! It's time to soldier up! 

It's time to break the power of addiction- It's time to break the power of of sickness-It's time to break the power of sin-It's time to break the power of satan! 

The word of God declares!

"You shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you!"  Acts 1:8

Power over all Devils and to cure diseases!

Power over Devils of suicide and depression! 

Power over Devils of homosexuality and racism!

Power over witchcraft! 

Power over religious Devils! 

Power to live right! 

I'm tired of repeat after me 1,2,3- 

I wanna see somebody get saved.  

I don't wanna see somebody make a decision. 

I wanna see somebody get baptized in the Holy Ghost and Fire. 

I'm weary with gospel politics and christian entertainers. Hipsters without holiness and power. 

It's time for war! It's time to burn with the unquenchable fire of the Holy Ghost! 

We are called to utterly destroy every high place-every grove-every altar devoted to wickedness! 

You are not called to warm a pew and sip a cappuccino in the the sanctuary of your church singing kumbaya! 

You are called to war! You are called to victory! 

#spiritualwarfare #takeitbyforce #notplaying #revivalfire 

Go and Possess The Land

 

Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. (Deuteronomy‬ ‭1‬:‭21)

The command of the Lord here is seemingly simple. 'Go and possess it'

God had set the land as an inheritance before the children of Israel and simply declared "It belongs to you- Go, occupy and plant yourself there" 

You know the story however of what occurred next. 

The children of Israel sent spies into the Land to assess the strength of the people who lived there. The spies came back and reported to the Israelites: 'It's a beautiful and wonderfully prosperous land but not so fast- Did you see the size of those guys they declared...'

"And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there"(‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭1‬:‭27-28‬ KJV)

All of a sudden fear and unbelief had crept in. Instead of moving into the land in obedience to the command of God the people rebelled against the word of the Lord through unbelief.  

Did God tell them it would always be easy? No! 

In fact God told them to go and possess the land but He also commanded them not to fear and not to be discouraged. God understood that there would be some foes in that land that may strike fear in the hearts of ordinary individuals, but these were not to be ordinary individuals moving to possess this land. 

These were the chosen people of God and the LORD Himself declared that He would be with them. 

How soon had these people forgotten of the delivering power of Jehovah that broke the yoke of pharaoh from off their backs.

How soon had they forgotten of the miraculous parting of the Red Sea. 

How soon had they forgotten of the tangible power and presence of the Most High that led them daily as a pillar of fire by night and cloud by day.  

They had refused to see with the eyes  of faith. They had refused to see through the eyes of the 'promise'. Rather, they chose to view things through the eyesight of rationalization and the lens of doubt. 

Sure the occupants of that land were fierce. 

Sure they were ferocious. 

Sure they were Giants and their cities were heavily fortified. 

In fact the spies returned and struck panic and fear in the hearts of the people as they declared that 'they were as grasshoppers in the sight of the Giants'. 

Unbelief and doubt soon spread like cancer. 

The people began to turn on God and harbor resentment. 

They began to spiral into depression as they murmured and began to accuse God of bringing them there to die. 

They allowed the word of men to trump the word of God. 

God Himself had declared that He was going to fight for them. 

If God is for you, who can be against you? 

God has commanded you to 'Go and possess the land'. 

So I ask, what Giants are in your way?

What things seem to tower over your circumstances and cause you to lose hope and thus lose faith? 

Your present circumstances are not greater than your promise. Your promise is greater than your present. 

Don't look at your dilemma or your adversary through the natural eyes. 

Look at it through the lens of the word of God. 

What did God say?

If God said it then He will do it! 

Arise in faith and go possess the land! The battle is not yours but the Lord's. 

Stumble not at the promise through unbelief but stand in faith and be steadfast. 




 
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Remnant Arise

 

But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. (‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭4-5‬ KJV)

Everywhere we turn it seems that we are being assailed on all sides. Godlessness, perversion, sickness, death and disease are encroaching from all angles. 

What used to be right is now wrong. What was once considered perverse  is now an alternative lifestyle. Men have become lovers of themselves as they worship at the altar of selfish desire. 

It was just this past Christmas season  that Hasboro reported sales of Ouija boards to be up 300%. Islam is spreading like cancer and secular humanism is rising like flood waters. 

If those things were not enough-like dominos,pulpits all across America seem to be falling for a powerless message of compromise. One after the other, so called mega church Pastors are coming out of the closet and espousing doctrines of Devils in an attempt to manipulate doctor big bucks sitting on the front row. 

As the church goes so goes the nation-As the pulpit goes so goes the pew. 

There however is still hope! 

God is speaking prophetically now- That even though darkness is covering the earth and gross darkness the people, the glory of the Lord is about to be poured out on the earth in a mighty awakening. 

The hot will get hotter and the cold will get colder but it is Harvest time!

It may appear that Jezebel's prophets are numerous in the land-BUT GOD still has a remnant who have not bowed the knee to Baal! 

It's time to cry loud and spare not. It's time to square our shoulders, point our finger under the nose of the devil and declare "Thus saith the Lord" 


Pulling Down Strongholds

 [The purpose is] that through the church the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere. (‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ AMP)

In modern warfare; long before the ground forces storm the beachhead of the enemy, something takes place known as battlefield preparation. During the process of 'preparation' the area targeted for assault is thoroughly pounded through systematic aerial and artillery bombardment. 

This assault from the sky helps to ensure that any physical strongholds, entrenchments and defenses are either destroyed or sufficiently weakened prior to the arrival of the ground forces.  Without such sufficient bombardment any ground invasion would either be doomed or suffer much unnecessary casualties. 

We have to understand that we are engaged in a similar war. A war that is being waged constantly in the spiritual realm all around us. This war is intense and the casualties are mounting all around. 

We are facing a battle in which the armies of hell have been entrenched for both centuries and thousands of years. 

You must know that the enemy of your soul will not relent his stranglehold on your life, your family or your city just because you attended some 2 day conference on spiritual warfare somewhere or just because you asked nicely. 

We must become a church that understands the concept Paul speaks of when he wrote the above passage. 

It is the job of the blood bought and fire baptized church to inform the ruling strongholds and demonic principalities and powers that the day of their dominion is over. 

It is our job to enforce the victory of the cross. It is our job to prophesy to these powers over our cities, churches, and families that Jesus is Lord even over them. 

That no longer can they hold our families bondage, no longer can they hold the people in darkness, no longer will they have dominion; because Jesus Christ destroyed their dominion through the power of His cross. 

We are to declare through the power of prophetic intercession that the wickedness of the wicked shall come to an end and every tree not planted by the Father shall be uprooted!

We are to declare the supremacy of the blood of the cross of Christ and the dominion of the Son of God. We are to declare that the Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. 

This can only be done systematically and persistently through prayer and aerial bombardment of the heavenly realm. When this is consistently done through a unified body of believers through prayer and fasting. The very strongholds that once held entire cities, families, and churches in bondage will crumble.  

Are you serious about experiencing revival? 

Are you serious about seeing bars and abortion clinics close in your city?

Are you ready for war?  

How bad do you want revival?  

There is a move of God coming in which entire neighborhoods will repent and turn from their ways of sin! I see complete strongholds being dismantled and torn down.  I see a move coming in which rehab centers are emptied and bars shut down. 

Are you ready to wage this war! This kind of revival is only birthed through a trevailing womb of prayer and fasting.  

It's time to start prophesing to the principalities and declare the manifold victory of the cross it's time to declare the edict of God to them. 

Jesus said "this kind comes out but by prayer and fasting"

The Gates of Hell Shall not Prevail- A call to War

 

Matt 16:18-19 “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.  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.”

 

 

What on earth would cause a man to steal an identification badge, arm himself with a shotgun and slip quietly into the Naval Yard and systematically mow down and slaughter his fellow man in cold blood? Why does a child gear himself up with weapons of war, enter a movie theatre and begin to shoot callously men, women and children? What would cause a woman to walk into a modern day planned parenthood facility and allow a butcher dressed in doctor’s garb to murder her unborn child? While in the same house of horrors where even 1 in 5 who visit profess to be born again? 

Why are so called Christians running to the divorce court at unprecedented levels, allowing the fabric of our homes to be destroyed? How is it that what used to be called perversion is now a lifestyle persuasion? Suicide is now the leading cause of death in the developed world in persons aged 15-49.  Heart disease, cancer, AIDS, and now Ebola continue to ravage the landscape of earth.

What on earth would make a woman sell her child and her own body for the fleeting pleasure of a momentary drug induced high?

 Our minds have become assailed and assaulted by all manner of evil thoughts and imaginations with images flashing and burning in our minds. 

The casualties are mounting all around and countless lives dangle in the clutches of despair.   

But I hear the word of God echoing in my mind... “For this reason was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” 1 John 3:8

 

We are engaged in a battle of epic proportion. We are locked in an eternal struggle with life and death hanging in the balance bearing consequences far more stark than even the blooded shores of Normandy or the sands of Iwo Jima.

You see, we are engaged in a battle of heavenly proportions. “For 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” Ephesians 6:10

 

It is time for the church to arise, full of the Holy Ghost and power and hit the beachhead of this battle.

Ready to announce to the devil; enough is enough!

A church that refuses to be refused and denies to be denied!

Enough stealing our joy, enough cancer, enough suicide, enough poverty!

No to drug addiction, and divorce!

Abortion must go!

Depression must go!

Perversion must go!

Devils, depravity and disease must go!

 

In Judges chapter 16 the word of God tells of Samson having driven back the Philistines into their boundaries enters into their stronghold of Azzah (Gaza).

This was the most powerful city and capital of the Philistines.  It was here that the remnants of the Anakim were said to have remained. A stronghold of demonic activity and worship.  Samson stormed into the center of this stronghold of the enemy and word of his arrival spread fast.  “Samson is come hither” they clamored.

The feared warrior of the LORD was in their midst. Fear and worry gripped the hearts of the enemies of God as they surely murmured amongst themselves what to do. This indeed was the Samson they had heard about and had even seen in action.

It was this Samson who the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon and he single handedly slaughtered 1000 of the most skilled warriors of the Philistine nation. Surely the news of this man anointed of God in the center of their most revered stronghold; a city dedicated to the worship of the most foul devils brought fear to the core of the inhabitants. 

Judges 16:2 declares that the Philistines laid in wait, fearful and quiet and timid as a mouse so as to not awaken this mighty man of God. They ordered the city gates shuttered and locked so as to lock him inside until day light when they poorly assumed they may have an advantage.

But Samson slept till midnight. (Ver.3) He had been told that his presence in Gaza was known. How little fear he felt, appears from the fact that he slept till midnight. Then he arose, went calmly to the gate, and (as it was closed and barred) lifted out its posts, placed the doors on his shoulders, and tranquilly proceeded on his way home.  On this occasion however, the mighty act which he played off on the inhabitants of Gaza, was also the worst humiliation which he could inflict upon them.

The gates of a place symbolized its civic and national strength, inasmuch as they represented ingress into it. Samson enacted literally, as it were, the promise made to Abraham: “Thy seed shall possess the gate of its enemies” (Gen. 22:17)

(Gen 24:60) “May thy seed possess the gate of those who hate it!” indicates the popular diffusion of the idea that to take possession of an enemy’s gate is to obtain a complete victory over him. It was custom in the East that victorious Princes and armies would literally carry away the gates of conquered cities.

Here Samson exhibits total defeat to the stronghold of the enemies of Israel when he carries the esteemed gate of their city almost 20 miles to the top of the hill before Hebron. Israel’s triumph and the Philistines’ ignominy were both most plainly expressed when the gate of Gaza was lying before Hebron; for it was found appropriate to carry the gates of the chief city of the enemy to the chief city of the conqueror!

 

In the old testament the region known as Bashan was located east of the Jordan River. Specifically, it refers to the upper Transjordan east and northeast of the Sea of Galilee, extending north to and including Mount Hermon. Before Israel conquered it, Bashan was an Amorite stronghold ruled by two kings, Sihon and Og, both of whom descended from the giant clans known as the Rephaim and Anakim.

Its two capital cities were Ashtaroth and Edrei (see Num 21:33; Deut 1:4; 3:10; Josh 9:10; 12:4; 13:12, 31). The name “Ashtaroth” is the plural form of “Ashtoreth,” a Canaanite goddess more commonly known as Astarte. Israelite idol worship frequently involved “the Baals and Ashtaroth,” which were sexual fertility cults. These gods were actually demons which were worshiped through the carved images that they represented. 

Bashan also has a more sinister reputation in the ancient Canaanite world. Ashtaroth and Edrei its two capital cities were known as the abode of the god Molech. This foul demonic idol was associated with child sacrifice listed in (Lev 18:21, 20:1-5). The cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei (and, more broadly, all of Bashan) came to be associated with the broader Underworld population of deified ancestors and ancient warrior-kings, such as the Rephaim.  The demonized population of the Canaanites literally believed Bashan to be the gateway of the underworld-the dwelling place of the dead.  In other words, this area was known to the local population as the literal gate and entranceway to hell itself. The Israelites considered all of Bashan to be the domain of these demonically inspired gods. It was also at Mt Hermon in Bashan that the fallen angels descended to before they carried out their abominable acts in Gen 6. Thus this area of Bashan and Mt. Hermon had sinister reputations.

After Israel subdued Bashan and the Amorities; the people in the region continued to associate this area with the worship of fallen angels. It was here that the wicked Jeroboam King of Israel set up a cult center in the city of Dan near the foot of Mt. Hermon. In 734 BC the Assyrians destroyed the city and eventually the Hellenists (Greeks) replaced them and set up a new cult center. The location formerly known as Baal-Gad and Baal-Hermon was named Paneas and devoted to the greek god Pan. This half-man, half-goat god of fright which the word (“panic”) is derived.  This site featured cave grottoes and carved niches for the statues of these deities. It was here that worshipers would cast their sacrifices into the caves as offerings to Pan. This place was known as Banias.

Why is all of this important?  Because in Jesus’s day the area formerly known as Banias or Bashan had been renamed Caesarea-Philippi. 

It was here in Matthew 16 that Jesus stood with Peter and asked him “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?” It was with this backdrop that Peter replied “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” And then Jesus declares to Peter “upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not withstand it”.

It was here that the King of Glory stood; He and His disciples literally standing at the specific place known in ancient times as the gates of hades/ the underworld. This thundering announcement was not just some trivial doctrinal declaration but a declaration of war upon the kingdom of Satan!

Pointing to this mountain known as the literal gates of hell; he announces that it would be here that he would build His church and it would be here that he would conquer the forces of darkness associated with the Underworld.  In Paul’s words, Christ “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them” (Col 2:15) and “ascended on high, leading a host of captives, and gave gifts to men” (Eph 4:8). In this latter passage, Paul quotes Ps 68:18, which makes it especially powerful because the mountain God ascends and conquers is none other than Mount Bashan (Psa 68:15).

It was here that Gen 3:15 was fulfilled , where Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God crushed the head of Satan.   

It was this victory, this crushing defeat that Paul wrote about in Col 2:15 when he declares “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Understand this my friend; Jesus Christ stood in the literal midst of the demonic stronghold of His day and declared war on Satan. He then followed it up by completely dismantling and destroying the kingdom of darkness through the power of the cross. He descended into the literal bowels of hell and disarmed and spoiled Satan and his principalities. Our Lord and King Jesus Christ arose on the third day with all power over death, hell and the grave!!

Its time that the church finally gets the message! Jesus wears the victors crown! He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Its time to get to work and plunder the kingdom of darkness and announce to the demonic hordes of hell that enough is enough! The name of Jesus Christ rebukes you!

We do not serve a losing King. No matter what society may look like, no mater what popular culture may tell you, no matter what the doctor may diagnose, no matter who's in the White House; Jesus is still the King!  Sickness is no match for His name, Sin is no match for Him, Satan is no match for our Lord.