Mat 16:18 KJV 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.
Matt 16:13 ...And answering, Jesus said to him, Spiritually prosperous are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father who is in heaven. Moreover, as for myself, I alto am saying to you, You are Rock [petros, masculine in gender, a detached but large fragment of rock], and upon this massive rock [petra, feminine in gender, feminine demonstrative pronoun cannot go back to masculine petros; petra, a rocky peak, a massive rock] I will build my Church. And the councils of the unseen world shall not overpower it. I shall give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth [forbid to be done], shall have been already bound [forbidden to be done] in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth [permit to be done], shall have already been loosed in heaven [permitted to be done]. (from The New Testament: An Expanded Translation by Kenneth S. Wuest Copyright © 1961 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. All rights reserved.)
It is extremely interesting as we observe Wuest's translation of this passage. It takes our consideration to a whole new level. One of the first things God spoke concerning the gates of hell, is "gates do not move".
If we first look at that phrase, "the gates of hell", it seems to indicate a fortress like structure with gates or entrances that are blocked or locked against the people of God who are in warfare mode.
One of the names of God used extensively throughout the Word is, The Lord of Hosts. It is a name associated with war. In any war, we must first define the enemy. In doing this it must be clear, otherwise we will not aim our weapons at the proper enemy and therefore have 'needless casualties of war', Scripture is clear concerning the adversary.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: KJV
1 Peter 5:5 Your adversary who is a slanderer, namely, the devil, as a lion roaring in fierce hunger, is constantly walking about, always seeking someone to be devouring. (from The New Testament: An Expanded Translation by Kenneth S. Wuest Copyright © 1961 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. All rights reserved.)
The devil is our adversary, not God's. God's adversary is our flesh.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. KJV
Rom 8:5-8 For those who are habitually dominated by the sinful nature put their minds on the things of the sinful nature, but those who are habitually dominated by the Spirit put their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to have the mind dominated by the sinful nature is death, but to have the mind dominated by the Spirit is life and peace; because the mind dominated by the sinful nature is hostile to. God, for it does not marshall itself under the command of the law of God, neither is it able to. Moreover, those who are in the sphere of the sinful nature are not able to please God. (from The New Testament: An Expanded Translation by Kenneth S. Wuest Copyright © 1961 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. All rights reserved.)
This is important because of how it changes the rules of engagement. The devil is our adversary and is arrayed against that which God is doing in our lives. Yes, he is arrayed against the church, but, he preys on that which is internal first. It is only by taking each individual one on one, that he is able to get a group of people into a situation that is against the Kingdom of God. If he can cause confusion as to the purposes of God, he does not have to defeat the Christian in the ways we have always thought, he just has to keep them divided internally, and thereby produce an external division in the Body of Christ, effectively stopping that which is able to break his yoke upon the individual.
In our understanding of the "gates of hell" there is an approach that hopefully will expose the power of the enemy's hold within. Please follow carefully. Jesus in speaking of dealing with the demonic in a person talks of "binding the strong man". Too often the strong man is able to hide behind a weaker one, as Baal did behind Jezebel. Many have attacked the "spirit of Jezebel" not realizing that in the final confrontation, Jezebel was absent. Elijah rightfully confronted the power behind the throne; Baal. The confrontation on Mt Carmel was between the Lord God Almighty and Baal. Jezebel was not even invited, although she seemed to all appearances to be the one pulling the strings and keeping Israel in bondage to her whims. When Baal was defeated, it seems that Jezebel lost her ability to intimidate and control, even though she lived for 11 more years.
This understanding proves that Baal was the strong man, even though the visible expression that seemed to oppress and intimidate the men of God in that hour(the 7000 that had not bowed the knee) was Jezebel. Once Baal was dealt with by God through Elijah's anointing, Jezebel had no power over the man of God after God cleared that in him which was intimidated.
Again, we have dealing with the personal problem clearing up the power of the enemy over God's man. Much of our enemy's power over us has to do with the internal world rather than something external. It could almost be said that the external is a distraction to the real realm that is in bondage. If the enemy can keep us distracted by the external then the internal will not be dealt with.
God has called us to learn from our internal struggle the principles of defeating the enemy and trains us for the end time battle.
With the above in mind we need to rethink a number of things.
It is God, through the Apostle Paul that takes the warfare from Israel eternally to an internal warfare.
Recently God reminded me of something He spoke into my spirit when terrorism broke into the visible realm through Al-Qaeoda and like organizations.
“ The enemy’s tactics will be that of the terrorists from now on and unless we learn those tactics and plan our strategies with them in mind, we will not be able to win our personal wars, nor our corporate wars over our areas and territories that God has assigned to us, our inheritance”.
As we study their tactics we see a lack of respect for any type of life. Children, women and innocents are used as human shields in order to further their end purpose of controlling by fear the populations they try to subvert. Force and cruelty, intimidation and avoidance are used. All of these have spiritual parallels as we look at the internal war.
Jesus made a statement that we have kept in the future to our own peril.
John 14 1-2 Let not your heart continue to be agitated. Be putting your trust in God. Also be putting your trust in me. In the house of my Father there are many dwelling places. Indeed, if it were not so, in that case I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you.
From G3306; a staying, that is, residence (the act or the place): - abode, mansion.
This passage has the following repercussions.
- You are the dwelling place of God. He said that The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit would come and make their abode in us. Although we do not understand all the ramifications, it is clear we are His dwelling place. We individually are, Father’s House.
- Another scripture that seems to indicate a duality at least is:
Luk 11:36 KJV If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.
Luke 11:33-36 No one, having lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under the grain-measure but upon the lampstand, in order that those who are entering from time to time may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. When your eye is in single focus, sound, and fulfilling its function, also your whole body is well lighted. But when it is pernicious, also your body is full of darkness. Be constantly scrutinizing yourself therefore lest the light which is in you is darkness. Therefore, assuming that your whole body is well lighted, not having any part full of darkness, the whole shall be full of light as when the lamp by its bright shining illuminates you. Wuest Translation
- G3313 μέρος meros mer'-os From an obsolete but more primary form of μείρομαι meiromai (to get as a section or allotment); a division or share (literally or figuratively, in a wide application): - behalf, coast, course, craft, particular (+ -ly), part (+ -ly), piece, portion, respect, side, some sort (-what).
2. Moving on that premise, we see that in us, there are many dwelling places. Some of them can be dark, according to the above passage.
3. If we individually are the Temple of the Holy Spirit/Ghost
- a. 1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
- b. 1 Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
- c. 2Th 2:4 KJV Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
The pattern of the Temple is found in Solomon’s Temple. When we read its description we find there are many rooms within it, all dedicated to the worship of God and those things pertaining to it.
In the days of the apostasy of Israel, before the captivity, the Temple went through periods where most of it was filled with that which was not of God. When godly kings came to the through, in the cycles of restoration, they cleansed the Temple and rededicated all the rooms to the worship of God. All uncleanness was taken out and disposed of.
This same process must go on within when Jesus comes back into the Temple which He created. As the process proceeds, each room is taken back, cleansed, and the light brought into it to expose anything of the kingdom of darkness that is there. It must be carried out, just as the priests cleansed the Temple of old. Depending on the depth to which one has allowed the enemy into the life, depends on the length of time to cleanse the Temple. Obviously there are multiple applications of these principles.
When we look at Jesus comment on the power of the revelation of Jesus Christ moving through the church there is a factor that many fail to realize: Gates Don't Move. This means that if the Gates of Hell are not going to prevail against the church, the church has to be assaulting hell. The enemy has been making inroads in the life of the Christian because Christians are in a maintenance mode. We do not know how to do a number of things that God must teach His soldiers.
- Convince them that they are called to be soldiers.
- Teach us how to work together as an army instead of be warriors. Warriors do not necessarily move together as a unit.
- Show us how to move and flow together as one unit, much like the Roman Turtle formation and other formations built on the same type of principles. This formation made it impossible for those on the walls of the gates being assaulted to stop the battering of their gates and their eventual fall.
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| Roman Turtle |
After 45 years of observing the "church at war" I have come to the conclusion that it is time for retraining. We have all these specialists and special emphasis, but they are working in competition with each other, instead of working together. Each tries to do the same thing or reinvent the wheel, thereby wasting precious spiritual, soulish and natural energy that could be spent learning to work with one another and how to move together against our real enemy as one.
There are gates within that allow the enemy access to our lives. These then become access point through which he can reach others around us, if we do not learn the power of the revelation of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God that will destroy not only the Gates of Hell, but the devil himself in our lives. Jesus came to destroy him that had the power of death, the devil.
Heb 2:14 KJV 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;
Dear Lord, can you bring your army together. Help us stop the competition within your troops. Help us to honestly learn and believe that we have a common enemy. Help us recognize the gates of hell that allow the enemy access within our own lives instead of going after everyone else. Then Lord, help us to lay down the differences that do not matter and come together under the banner of the power of the cross and the blood of Jesus.
More on the gates of hell in the next blog writing.
