"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son." (Colossians 1:13)

If you are in God’s Kingdom, then you are automatically at war with Satan’s kingdom of darkness. We must understand that we cannot be on friendly terms with the "god of this world" whose kingdom is at war against all things which are good and true. This great demonic army is working to bring about death to as many as possible by blinding the minds of the unsuspecting so that they cannot see the Gospel of Christ, -"And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

We live in a world where both the physically visible and the invisible are real. Sometimes, if you know what to look for, you can see something that is invisible to the natural man because the "god of this world" has blinded their minds. But praise God, He has opened the minds and eyes of His saints.

God has provided specialized armor and divinely powerful weapons for His great Army of Light. The Apostle Paul wrote that we must "Take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm." (Ephesians 6:11-13) Paul reminds us that we do not war against flesh and blood, but against rulers and spiritual forces of darkness in heavenly places. We understand that God’s Throne is in Paradise, the third Heaven. But there are the heavens of the sky and universe which this great demonic army operates from. From Daniel 10 we learn that as soon as Daniel began his fervent prayer an angel was sent from God to comfort him but was intercepted by the demon ruler, the"Prince of Persia" and detained for 21 days. It’s likely that this occurred between Paradise and earth. It wasn’t until the great Archangel Michael came to fight that the angel was freed to descend to comfort Daniel. When the angel left Daniel to begin his ascent he said, "I shall now return to fight against the Prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the Prince of Greece is about to come." (Daniel 10:20)

There are great demonic principalities influencing every nation, especially those with great power and might. God has sometimes used these nations to punish Israel for their disobedience. God raised up the Assyrians to conquer the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and raised up the Babylonians to conquer Judah. Satan has deceived the entire world and exercises control over the nations, -"The great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world." (Revelation 12:9) "And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the (end time) beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast." (Revelation 13:3-4) "We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." (1 John 5:19)

There are great and powerful spiritual forces at work in the world. They are responsible for stirring up nations to war against one another. These dark beings without physical bodies are responsible for the culture wars we are currently experiencing also. The devil gains ground by craftiness and secrecy and he destroys by lies, accusation, enticement and deception. Stealth is a weapon he uses well. There are diabolical dark forces behind what we see in the natural realm.

In an attempt to capture the Prophet Elisha, the Arameans surrounded the city where Elisha lived. The Arameans had been stirred up by demonic forces. But wherever demonic forces come against the people of God there is also God’s Army of Light. When Elisha’s servant Gehazi looked outside that morning he saw the physical army arrayed against them and was greatly alarmed and quickly informed the Prophet. Elisha stepped out to take a look and not only saw the physical army there to seize him, but also a greater and divinely powerful Army of Light arrayed to protect him. Then he prayed that God would open the spiritual eyes of Gehazi.

"Phobia." What single religion in our culture has "phobia" attached to it? Do you ever hear "Buddha-phobia" or "Hindu-phobia" or "Christian-phoba?" No, it’s "Islamophobia." Why? To protect it from criticism. There has been far more atrocities committed by terrorists in the name of Allah during the past twenty years than all other religious groups combined. Three thousand killed in the 911 act alone. In recent years we have witnessed the rise of Al Qaeda, and Isis who systematically slaughtered people by the thousands. Because Muslims number almost two billion people, Islam is the most dangerous religion in the world. You might argue that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are peaceful and would never engage in terrorism. But consider that if only 5% were jihadists they would number 90 million combatants. Yet, because of the "phobia" attached, Islam has now achieved a protected, even favored status in the West. Islam is the mortal enemy of Judaism and Christianity. Yet you dare not utter a word against it and if you do you are a "islamophobe" and there is no place for debate. This deception seems very easy to spot, and it is for those whose minds have not been blinded by the god of this world.

"There is no Absolute Truth" If there is no real truth then there is no reason to debate the differences between religions. After all, there’s no sense fighting about who’s right if there is no right. We’ve all seen the COEXIST signs, which may be clever, but ultimately contradictory. This conveys the thought that "everybody is right-you have your truth and I have mine." Yet you cannot be politically correct if you believe that the teachings of your religion are true if they happen to contradict another religion’s truth. When someone argues that there is no truth, they also seem to expect me to believe and agree with that "truth"-see the problem?

"Gender is a Social Construct" It seems so obvious that there are males and females and each was made for the other. But today this simple truth is no longer clear to many otherwise intelligent people. Why is the obvious no longer obvious? And why is there such intensity of opposition towards those who can clearly see what others are blind to? According to the Bible, in the beginning the Creator made male and female. Jesus expounded on this saying, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female?" Jesus went on to say that when a man and a woman come together in marriage they become "one flesh."

All of these demonic schemes are designed to attack truth and silence debate. That’s the common thread that is not so easily seen by unbelievers whose minds have been blinded. Unsuspecting minds have been deceived into believing the most outrageous lies. I saw a video of a 5' 9" white man talking to college students about gender identification. He asked, "What would you say if I told you that I was a woman?" All the students said that it was ok. Then he said, "I am an Asian woman-how do you feel about that?" Some were taken aback but agreed and said ok. Then he said, "I am a 6' 5' Asian woman -how do you feel about that?" This began to put the students in conflict because they could clearly see that he was a short white man, not a very tall Asian woman. To further illustrate his point that self-identification of something other than what is true he said, "I identify as a 7 year old girl, and I want to be accepted in second grade elementary school." This was the last straw and the students struggled greatly with accepting that "personal truth" in their politically correct thinking -which is driven by spiritual forces of darkness.

"Women Have a Right Over Their Body" This argument is used against the right to life ideal. "If I want to terminate my unwanted pregnancy it’s my right to do so!" To those of us who are Pro Life this is an argument we cannot agree with because we do not see the child in the womb as being a part of the woman’s body. In fact, it is a proven fact that the baby in the womb is indeed a completely separate person and body. With the advances in medical science it’s become more difficult for the Pro Choice crowd to justify killing a baby in the womb.

Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight. Millions celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25 when all scholars know that He was not born in the winter. Why December 25? This date was already celebrated throughout the pagan world because a number of their gods were believed to be born on this date. It was a time of the winter solstice when sacrifices were offered to rejuvenate the dying sun. Add to this the strange customs of bringing a tree into the home and decorating it with ornaments and lights, -hanging socks on a fireplace mantle so a jolly old elf could leave treats.

Easter is similar. The name itself is a variation of Istar a fertility goddess. It’s observance is during the Spring equinox but rather than on a fixed day is always observed on Sunday. The timing is associated with the worship of several female fertility goddesses. The Bible does not teach a resurrection commemoration, but rather the Passover to commemorate the Lord’s death. The customs of sunrise services, coloring eggs and children hunting for Easter eggs left by Easter’s bunny are pagan and are equally puzzling if you think about it.

Why do so many accept such strange things as the "phobia" attachment, the "no real truth" idea, the ridiculous "gender identity," the "pagan customs in Christmas and Easter observances?" It’s because the world has been blinded and deceived, and is in the grip of the "god of this world." Many are blind to the ruse because it’s driven by spiritual forces of darkness. If you want to see the unseen, look for something spiritually dramatic going on in the visible realm that is so obvious that everyone else should see it, but don’t.

Spiritual Warfare

Since Satan’s chief tactic is the use of deception to cover or nullify truth, the counter-tactic we must use is the proclamation of truth. This battle is not a power play where we attempt to command it or pray it away. This is a battle where our most effective weapon is the sword of God’s Word-His truth. As children of the Light, we must enter the battle against the forces of deceit and darkness with the glorious light of truth.

The main purpose in many of the epistles of the New Testament is to warn and expose false teachers and their false teachings. All truth comes from God and all lies come from Satan who Jesus called "the father of lies." As followers of Christ we have a responsibility to carry the light of truth into the darkness of deceit."Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light, for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them." (Ephesians 5:6-11)