Chapter 14: The Human Spirit, Standing In The Gap, And The Spirit World
Rebecca Talks:
Throughout this book many references have been made to human spirits. This is a very important concept that Christians should understand. This is the power that Elaine and many others like her developed and used. Let us look at the Scriptures that touch on this.
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
I Thessalonians 5:23 Paul teaches us here that we humans are tripartite beings. That is, we have three separate parts - the body, the soul (which is our conscious intellect, will, and emotions), and the spirit. He plainly states that all three must be cleansed and committed to Jesus, and that Jesus himself must enable us to keep all three parts "blameless" until His return.
Genesis 2:7 says, "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."
That is, Adam lived, and became aware of himself. In essence our self is our soul which manifests in our mind, our will, and our emotions.
"... There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. " I Corinthians 15:44 This is a much overlooked verse. Our spirits have a form or shape, a body corresponding to our physical body. Few people other than the satanists or those involved in such things as astral projection realize this. (See figure A.)
Figure A
"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell:
God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third Heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." II Corinthians 12:2-4 "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in Heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and one sat on the throne."
Revelation 4:1-2 These Scriptures and others show an experience perceived in the person's spirit, and that the spirit body was separated from the physical body. Notice that when John stated that he was in the "spirit" that it is spelled with a small "s" signifying his own human spirit.
Every time the Holy Spirit is referred to in Scripture it is spelled with a capital "S" as in Revelation 1:10:
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet... " "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,... ** Hebrews 4:12 Did you ever wonder why it is necessary to divide between our soul and spirit? According to the above verse there can be a division made (or separation of) the soul and the spirit.
The first Adam, before the fall, could relate to, and see the spirit world as easily as he could the physical world. How? By the use of his spiritual body. This is demonstrated by the ease with which he could walk and talk with God in the garden of Eden. He had a conscious awareness of his spiritual body the same as he had a conscious awareness of his physical body.
His soul (conscious intellect and will) controlled both his spiritual and physical bodies. But, at the fall, spiritual death took place - that is, Adam and his descendants were no longer consciously aware of their spiritual body, and thus could not commune with the Lord as he had once done. (See figure B & C.)
FIGURE B
FIGURE C
At the fall it was destroyed. The mysterious link was destroyed. This hindered Adam from communicating with God. (See Hebrew 4:12.)
As the Holy Spirit comes in at rebirth when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our spiritual body is re-born, or rejuvenated so that we can commune with and worship the Lord as Adam did before the fall. The fact that it is through our human spirit that we commune with God (with the help of the Holy Spirit) is clearly demonstrated in the following verse:
"[Jesus is speaking] But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
John 4:23-24 Please note in these two verses that when God is referred to as being a "Spirit" the word is spelled with a capital "S." However, the human spirit is clearly differentiated by spelling it with a small "s." Therefore, only a spirit can commune (that is communicate with) with the spirit world, in this case, worshiping God the Father who is a Spirit. (See figure D.)
Figure D
Angels are also clearly defined in the Bible as being spirits:
"Who [referring to God] maketh his angels spirits;"
Psalm 104:4 This verse is also quoted by Paul in Hebrews 1:7.
"But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Hebrews 1:13-14 satan and his demons are also spirits, they were once angels in God's service before they rebelled. Jesus himself defines these creatures as angels and thus spirits. One Scripture reference for this is in Matthew 25:41:
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41 So we see from these Scriptures and many others that not only is God a Spirit, but there are other spirit beings as well called angels some in God's service, some in satan's service.
Our spiritual bodies are the link between us and the spirit world because the spirit world cannot be seen or measured with anything physical.
Through the Holy Spirit, our spirits are able to commune with and worship God, but the Scripture in Hebrews 4:12 shows us that it is not God's will for us to regain the conscious control of our spirit bodies while we remain here on the earth in our sinful condition. This is why the sword of the Spirit severs between the soul and spirit. Once this severing has taken place the soul (mind, intellect, will) can no longer control the spirit body. This is also why the Lord is so adamant in I Thessalonians 5:23 that our spirit must be under the total mastership of Jesus Christ, as well as our soul and physical body.
There is an intriguing Scripture in Revelation 18:11 & 13:
[Referring to the fall of Babylon] "And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:... and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies, and souls of men."
Why the difference made between bodies and souls of men? Because there is a phenomenal amount of power and intelligence in the spirit bodies of humans especially when those spirit bodies are under the control of their soul. satan has been working steadily down through the ages since the fall of Adam to gain the use of these spiritual bodies for his own evil schemes. Men's physical bodies are weak and really are of little use to satan, but their spiritual bodies under the conscious control of their souls, are very different. satan's goal is to teach humans to again regain the conscious control of their spiritual bodies.
Many do. Once this is achieved, these people can perceive the spirit world as well as the physical world. They can talk freely with demons, leave their physical bodies with their spirit bodies, and with full conscious awareness go places and do things with, what seems to the average human, supernatural power. It was with their spirit bodies that the various witches and warlocks, without being physically present, would pull Elaine and myself out of bed, throw us across the room, etc. We were unable to see them because our physical eyes cannot see the spirit world. God does not want His people to control their spirit bodies in such a manner. If we did so, not only would we be open to overwhelming temptations to sin, we would not need to be so dependant upon Him and we would also be constantly aware of satan and his kingdom.
There is a special class of demons who frequently refer to themselves as "power demons" who seem to provide the "glue" so to speak, to establish the link between the soul and spirit body enabling the person involved to gain conscious control of his spirit body. The imagination is a key stepping stone to develop the link between soul and spirit. That is why it is so important to bring every thought into captivity to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). A good example of the imagination as a link with the spirit world is found in the occultic role-playing fantasy games. (See figure E, F, G & H.) / We have found that we can save ourselves much time and effort in the area of deliverance if we make it clear to a person requesting deliverance (who has been involved in the occult) that this power demon is the first demon we will ask the Lord to cast out. If someone is not really serious about desiring deliverance, or is trying to deceive us, they will back off quickly when they find out that with the removal of this demon they will instantly lose all their ability to use their spirit body.
I have also found that this is a very overlooked area in deliverance and frequently this doorway is left open. The result is much suffering as satan and his demons will continuously harass the person. If the person being so tormented will simply pray and ask the Lord to remove all their ability to perceive the spirit world and ask the Lord to sever between his soul and spirit (as in Hebrews 4:12), they will gain tremendous relief from such torment by the evil spirit world. After this the person will perceive the spirit world only when the Lord chooses to give them such perception. Their spirit will, from that point on, be totally under the mastership of Jesus Christ.
We Christians also must be very careful to ask the Lord to take complete control of our spirits.
Many Christians fall into the trap of learning to control their own spirits. I have heard many say "I meditate until I have a spiritual experience, or, experience God." Christians do have experiences in the spirit - visions and revelations - but these are always under the control of our Lord Jesus Christ and never controlled or initiated by the person himself. If a Christian is able to control when he has such spiritual experiences, then I would have to say to him that I would seriously doubt that his experiences came from God. Most likely they came from satan.
Too many Christians think that they must blank out their minds so that the Holy Spirit can speak through them. The Bible clearly shows us that we are to actively cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Any time we blank out our minds, the spirit speaking through us is most likely not the Holy Spirit. Multitudes of Christians are, and have been, misled because of their lack of knowledge of God's principles regarding their spirits. Many so called prophecies given by people who blank out their minds thinking this gives control to the Holy Spirit are demonic prophecies. Too many Christians are misled in this area and accept such prophecies because the person prophesying knows facts about them or their life that they think only God could know. They forget that satan knows every detail of our lives, the only thing he doesn't know is the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.
There is currently a growing teaching amongst the Christians of America which I consider to be very dangerous. That is, that "Our soulical man should be placed under the authority of our spiritual man because once indwelt by the Holy Spirit our spirits are without sin." There are two things wrong with this teaching. First, the only way the soul can be placed under the authority of the spirit is to establish conscious contact between the soul and spirit. This is pure witchcraft. I Peter 1:22 says:
"Seeing that ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren... "
Note here that in this verse "Spirit" is spelled with a capital "S" referring to the Holy Spirit.
Our souls are "purified" by staying in subjection to and obeying the Holy Spirit, not our own human spirits.
Second, I Thessalonians 5:23 clearly shows us that our spirits are vulnerable to fall into sin because Jesus must keep them blameless until His return. The keeping is an ongoing thing.
Look at that verse again:
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
I Thessalonians 5:23 I John 1:8-9 certainly doesn't agree with this teaching. It says:
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:8-9 Please note, God does not exempt our spirits from the vulnerability to fall into sin in this verse, or in any other verse that I have been able to find. The purpose of the severing between the soul and spirit is to separate our spirit from the influence of any of our natural "self' desires which reside in our souls. If a Christian walks in submission to God, he will not originate anything. Instead, he will wait quietly for the voice of the Holy Spirit to be heard in his spirit and then act only according to the directions of the Holy Spirit. A Christian who is in conscious contact with his own spirit will not wait in submission for the Holy Spirit to speak to him. He will be taking the initiative, and thus the voice he hears in his spirit will most likely not be that of the Holy Spirit.
There is one other major area regarding our spirits that has a terrible impact upon many people, but is not taught about in our churches.
This is the fact that, whenever he has the chance, satan will use a person's spirit body without his awareness.
"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer... "
I.John 3:15 I often wondered about this verse before I understood the spirit body. How could one be a murderer through an emotion, hatred, if he did not physically do something to bring about the death of the person he hated? Hatred is a conscious sin. As such, it gives satan legal ground in our lives if we permit it to dwell in our hearts. If you hate someone, satan can step in and use your spirit body to attack the person you hate. Such an attack can produce all sorts of illness, accidents, emotional problems, and even physical death. The person doing the hating usually is never aware that satan is using his spirit body. The person being hated usually has no idea where his trouble is really coming from. That is why we must be so careful to ask Jesus to cleanse and keep pure all three parts, body, soul, and spirit. That is why the Lord Jesus gave us so many commands to forgive one another. Forgiveness puts a stop to hatred. We Christians should ask the Lord regularly to clean out our hearts of any sin.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 Again, please note the small "s" in the word spirit here. Obviously the sin in David's heart had affected his spirit also.
An excellent description of the personal experiences of some Christians being terribly affected by the hatred of other Christians is found in the book The Latent Power Of The Soul, by Watchman Nee.
Standing In The Gap
Are you willing to stand in the gap for someone?
"And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel 22:30-31
"Standing in the gap" can be done in several different ways. Often it is necessary to ask the Lord to let you stand in the gap for a particular person so that he can have an opportunity to hear the gospel free from demonic interference.
Again remember II Corinthians 4:3-4:
"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
In Ezekiel 22:30-32 God was looking for someone who would be willing to stand and fight satan and his demons to stop them from blinding the people so that they could see their need for a Savior. Because the Lord could not find such a person He said that He would have to pour out His wrath and punishment upon the people for their sins. Ultimately, Jesus Christ is the ONE who stands in the gap for all sinners. That is why He came to earth and died - bearing the punishment for our sins. However, Jesus set the example for us. We cannot pay the price for our sins or anyone else's, but we can fight for them. In that sense, I believe we can stand in the gap for them.
We as Christian warriors must be willing to stand in the gap and fight in the spiritual realm to break the demonic forces blinding the unsaved. Paul makes it very clear in Ephesians 6:12 that:
"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."
We often pray a prayer such as the following:
"Lord, please let me stand in the gap for and fight for him so that his eyes will be opened and he will be freed from demonic bondage so that he can see his need for Jesus."
The Lord has shown us yet another way to stand in the gap. Look at the following Scriptures:
"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?" Isaiah 58:6 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 The above Scriptures clearly show that the Lord expects us to help bear the burdens and hurts of our Christian brothers and sisters as well as to fight whenever necessary to free them from oppression. Standing in the gap is one way of doing this.
Are you willing to stand in the gap for your minister? If he is really teaching Jesus and exposing satan as he should, he will come against much opposition. Servants of satan posing as Christians will be attacking him with their spirit bodies and many demons every time he gets up to speak, and at many other times also. These satanic servants are often in high positions within the church. There is a real need for strong, healthy young people to be willing to stand in the gap for their minister and ask the Lord to let them fight for him. In other words, any demonic powers directed towards the minister must get past you first. This will mean suffering for you - both physical and emotional. You may not always be able to get to church every Sunday as a result because you will be too ill to get there.
This may mean false accusation against you from members of your church saying, "You are sick because you don't get to church." Are you willing to take this kind of accusation and keep silent as to the real reason why you weren't there? Standing in the gap for someone is a way of "laying down your life for a friend."
I do want to make one thing clear. By standing in the gap you do NOT accept anything from the demons. Your purpose is to stand in the power of Jesus Christ. You should not "accept" illness or any other form of oppression. You must rebuke all demonic oppression in the name of Jesus Christ and forbid it from afflicting you or the person you are fighting for.
That is the whole purpose of "standing in the gap" in the first place.
You can't put yourself in the gap. Only the Lord can do that because only the Lord controls your spirit body. What you must do is ask Father to put you there if it is within His will to do so. You must be willing to allow Father to use you in any way He wants for the benefit of another person. You cannot decide how you are to be used.
Let me make one point clear. You will rarely be consciously aware that you are "in the gap."
This is because the Lord has complete control of our spirit bodies. We do not "see the spirit world at all times like we do the physical world.
Only on special occasions does the Lord allow individuals to see the spirit world and then usually only in glimpses or for short periods of time. You know you are, or have been, in the gap only when the Lord reveals it to you, or by the various problems in your physical body, which the Lord will confirm to you is from what has happened to your spirit body in the gap.
Have you ever experienced a time of intense intercessory prayer after which you felt completely exhausted? That is because while you were praying with your physical body and mind, God had taken your spirit body and put it into combat with the demonic forces you are praying against on the battlefield of the spirit world. The fatigue you felt is mostly a reflection of the stress your spirit body experienced. Wounds inflicted in your spirit body are often manifested by various symptoms in your physical body as well. I have come to realize that our physical bodies have been so altered by the onslaught of sin that they can cope with the conscious awareness of the spirit world for only very short periods of time without becoming excessively weakened. Witches and warlocks grow old in their physical bodies at a much accelerated rate. They pay dearly in their physical bodies for their frequent intercourse with the spirit world.
The dedicated intercessor standing in the spiritual gap for others.
There are a number of interesting references in the Bible that confirm this. Some are in the book of Daniel. For instance, in Daniel chapter 8, Daniel starts out by telling us that he had a vision where he saw the spirit world and spoke with the angel Gabriel. At the end of his time of experiencing the spirit world Daniel says:
"And I Daniel fainted and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it."
Also in chapter 10:
"And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.... And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, 0 my Lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my Lord talk with this my Lord? For as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me... " Daniel 10:7-18 Battling by our spiritual bodies takes a tremendous toll on our physical bodies as well.
As we come against demonic forces we do so with our spiritual bodies rather than our physical bodies. That is why Paul makes so many references to the fact that our battle is not against flesh and blood. We cannot, obviously, fight in the spirit world with physical bodies. But the two are linked together by God so that what happens to our spiritual bodies inevitably has an effect on our physical bodies.
Battling In The Spirit World
We have touched on the topic of our spirits battling in the spirit world several places in the book already - particularly when discussing the concept of "standing in the gap." This is a difficult concept to grasp because it is something that is completely out of our control and rarely perceived.
Please understand that we ourselves are still learning about this whole area. There are many deep things written about in the Scriptures. We are still searching and seeking God's enlightenment, we do not consider ourselves "experts" but are simply following our Master's command to share here what we have learned so far.
Once you understand that your spirit is a living, active part of you which can walk, talk, sing, think, pray, praise the Lord and fight in the spirit world, many puzzling portions of Scripture begin to be more understandable. For instance, keeping in mind the fact that for a large portion of each day we must give our mental and physical efforts to the business of being righteous and earning a living, caring for families, etc., how then can we carry out the following Scriptures?
"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing..." I Thessalonians 2:13 "Pray without ceasing." I Thessalonians 5:17 Our minds simply cannot pray or thank God without ceasing 24 hours a day, but when our minds cannot, our spirits can.
"... but live according to God in the spirit." I Peter 4:6 Again, please note here the small "s" signifying the human spirit. How can we live in the spirit in this manner? By committing our spirit to God to be used by Him in any way He chooses.
Our spirit bodies can move, think and talk just the same as our physical bodies, but they take their character and way of thinking from our physical bodies and souls. For instance, if you do not know the Scriptures with your mind, neither will your spirit body, with the exception, of course, that it is much more in tune with the Holy Spirit. Several times Paul tells us that our battle is not "against flesh and blood," but against spirits. Since our physical bodies cannot fight against spirits in the spirit worlds, our spiritual bodies must do the fighting. That is why it is so important to daily ask God to put His armor on us. This battle is continuous and unrelenting and if we don't have the armor of God on our spirit bodies as they fight we will receive many terrible wounds from the "fiery darts."
We cannot put ourselves on the spiritual battlefield as our spirits are completely under the control of our master, Jesus. We simply tell the Lord that we are willing for our spirits to be used in this way if He wants. Frequently I petition Father to let me stand in the gap and fight for a particular person, but the final decision is Father's. You will soon learn to recognize the symptoms of fatigue, pain, depression or other illness in your physical body which indicates that your spirit body is fighting hard.
The concept of our spirits being separated and geographically away from our physical body is strange and difficult to accept. There is a fascinating Scripture in which Paul describes just such a circumstance.
"It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his Father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ." I Corinthians 5:1-4
Notice here that Paul uses a small "s" denoting his own spirit, not the Holy Spirit. Also of utmost importance is the fact that Paul's spirit was there in Corinth only with the "power of our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Corinthians 5:4) Paul's spirit was completely under the control of the Lord, not his own soul. Normally the human spirit resides within the physical body. However, many Scriptures show that the human physical body can still live when the spirit is separated from it. This is not true of the soul. Once the soul leaves the physical body, the body dies.
That is why the many Scriptures referring to physical death refer also to the soul. However, there is a peculiar drain on the physical body when the spirit is not actually within it.
Through the years I have been involved in this ministry, the Lord has shown me that the drain on our physical bodies is a peculiar one in that it creates an acute loss of protein. If we are not careful to increase our intake of high quality protein during times of intensive spiritual battle we will become weak. The Scriptures have much to say on this subject. Ever since God's covenant with Noah in which He commanded Noah to eat meat, satan and his demons have been trying to stop humans from eating meat. It is interesting to note that today's Hindus and many other Eastern religions (all of which are forms of demon worship), believe that the success of either a medium or an adept whose powers come from the demons possessing them, depends on the presence in their bodies of a subtle fluid called "akasa," which is soon exhausted, and without which the demons are unable to act. This fluid, the Hindus say, may be regenerated only by a vegetarian diet and chastity.
If we stop to think a moment, we will see that the final straw, so to speak, which brought about God's judgment in the flood, was the intercourse occurring between humans and demons. (Genesis chapter 6) I do not believe it was any accident that God commanded Noah to start eating meat after the flood, knowing full well the spiritual battle Noah and all his offspring would have to go through to keep demons from controlling them and their lives.
As we study the Old Testament and the laws God gave to his people the children of Israel, we will find that the spiritual warriors of those days were the Levities of Israel. Their diets were clearly high in beef and lamb.
If beef is so harmful, then why did Abraham prepare beef for God himself to eat when He came to visit him? Abraham would obviously prepare the best he had. (See Genesis 18:1-7) If we look at the various spiritual warriors of renown in the Old Testament, we will find that every time, before they engaged in a great battle, God prepared them with the eating of meat. For instance, Elijah. Please note the menu provided for him personally by the Lord during his period of preparation just before he faced all the prophets of Baal.
"And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the work of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh [meat] in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook." I Kings 17:2-6 The Lord speaks very directly through Paul to this point in the New Testament.
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."
I Timothy 4:1-5 I have searched the medical literature carefully, and, despite all the publicity, there simply are no good studies that conclusively show that red meat is harmful. (Please note I am referring to the lean meat, not the fat, which the Lord told the Israelites not to eat when He gave them the law.) In fact, much work has been done showing the merits of protein supplements in a very wide range of illnesses. But satan has such control of the medical field that it is extremely difficult to get the average physician to pay any attention to the merits and necessity of protein.
If you will stop to evaluate, you will find that the bottom line in any health food teaching or fad is the abstinence from meat. This is no accident. It is a carefully masterminded plan by satan, because he knows very well the protein needs our bodies have and the tremendous protein drain caused by involvement in spiritual warfare. If satan can keep God's warriors from eating meat, he can cause much weakness and illness among them from the lack of protein. The physical body rapidly loses its ability to fight infections when deprived of protein. Many people die unnecessarily in these days of "modern medicine" because their doctors don't supplement their protein intake.
During times of intense battling we often find it necessary to eat meat at least twice daily. If we do not, we rapidly lose strength and often become physically ill. I have worked with many people who, when under intensive attacks by witchcraft, became excessively weakened and even ill, simply because they did not know about God's simple principles regarding the needed protein intake. All of them were much improved when they increased the amount of meat in their diets. When you are experiencing pain, depression and exhaustion from being on the battlefield, (or at any other time), don't forget one of our key weapons - praise. I will never forget the night Father taught me that lesson. I had just gone to bed and was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. I was deeply depressed. I was exhausted, in much pain and everything seemed so impossible. Actually, what I was doing was having a pity party for me. Suddenly, Father allowed me to see through the eyes of my spiritual body and I saw that I was on the battlefield, (that is, my spirit body) but I was not fighting. I was down on the ground, surrounded by many demons who were all jeering and throwing stones at me. I did not care. I was so tired that I hoped those demons would kill me, I did not want to live. There was nowhere to run, no way out of the situation except to stand up and fight, but at that point I was too tired and depressed to do so.
I do not know how much Elaine knew of what was happening, but I do know that it was in response to a command from Father that she came into the bedroom at that point and put on one of our tapes of Christian music. I was in no mood to listen to music, especially not the tape of all praise hymns she chose. Elaine did not say anything to me. She simply sat and listened to the music. Gently and persistently the Holy Spirit showed me how wrong my indulgence in self-pity was. Once again, I marveled at how loving and gracious the Lord is when we fail and fall. I could not help but respond to so great love. So, as I started singing along with the tape in my physical body, in the spirit world I struggled to my feet and told the demons I did not care what they did, that I was going to praise my Lord for His incredible love.
I lifted my head and hands and arms toward Heaven and sang my heart-felt love and worship and praise (in both my physical and spiritual bodies). As I did so, suddenly, in the spirit world, a brilliant white light shown around me. I saw all of the demons fall flat on the ground and then one by one they slunk away into the darkness. satan and his demons cannot stand in the presence of praise to the Lord. I am sure that is why Paul wrote that much debated Scripture in I Thessalonians 5:16:
"In everything give thanks.. "
Please note the word is "In" not "For." The worse our circumstances are, the more sure we can be that satan and his demons are all around us. As we give praise to the Lord, the source of our problems, satan, will rapidly lose strength and we will gain much blessing. As you fight in the spiritual realm remember that every weapon and tactic of warfare mentioned in the Bible is available to us. The Psalms are especially helpful. Don't forget to ask Father to put your feet on "The Rock" which is Jesus, and your back to "The Rock." The Lord will show you and teach you step by step what you need to know.
Are you willing to serve the Lord in this way??