The profile pictures of many people on Facebook and other social media reflects a new reality; that the terrorism and wanton inexplicable loss/waste of life that was until now commonplace in the Middle East has made landfall on European soil in a hitherto unprecedented scale. Within the space of less than a week after the events in Paris the Copenhagen airport was evacuated, a football match was called off and a refugee camp outside Calais evacuated, now some EU countries are considering the possibility of redrawing the the Schengen borders or at the very least introducing border controls which were non existent due to the ease with which the perpetrators of the last weeks tragedies moved through the zone after arriving from the horrors of the conflict/war zones in the Middle East.
The aftermath of these tragedies is a wave of islamophobia and arabophobia (if the word exists) across Europe and the developed world now while this arguably isn't necessarily unfounded it masks the main issue at stake: this is not, has never been a war on terror or Isis for that matter. They (Isis) represents the new mask of an old enemy.
Baudelaire is quoted to have said that the greatest ever trick ever pulled by the devil, was to convince the world that he did/does not exist. And if such a lacuna exists is it filled with mans sophistry and philosophy where the world refusing to accept the malevolent influence of the fallen ones blame such acts of sheer bestial violence on a few disturbed people who have seen religion as a tool or vector for their deplorable inclinations. Jesus said in Mathew 12vs45 that if a demon returns to a place (a mans heart) and finds it clean he brings with him seven others worse than himself and the end of the man is worse than his initial state.(think Lockerbie, then Al-Qaeda now Isis) In Any article that you read on the subject of this group Isis/daesh you'll see that kind of atrocities committed by these people in the areas under their influence. These are not things done by people with "normal" inhibitions there is something maniacal, demonic even about the gusto with which they commit their heinous acts and delight in them. This kind of behavior for however long we have seen it, isn't normal. People do not cut of the heads of people they do not know and aren't any threat to them and smile or cackle as they do it. The destruction of palmyra and others such places of historical interest would have been understood from a religious or almost puritanical perspective if the same people that destroyed them weren't immediately selling the artifacts gathered from there on the black market. this isn't normal or human ( greed is human, but can the rest of their acts be explained by greed?) Since there arguably isn't a temporal explanation for it what then are we dealing with? The scriptures in john 10vs 10 that the thief comes not but to steal kill and destroy it couldn't be more obvious.
To arrive at the point of this writing, Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our warfare isn't against against flesh and blood (metaphorically referring to humans) but it is against spiritual forces and demonic princes that are wielding great influences over the lives of people and causing them to carry out their macabre biddings. I wish to unambiguously state here that what we are currently facing here isn't a surge in religious consciousness but a massive demonic crusade camouflaging with the cloak of religion. First of all a largely Christian Europe falls into a period overwhelming apostasy, which has seen church attendance drop to hitherto unprecedented levels, an active move by governments all over Europe and the so-called developed world to embrace/cultivate a cosmopolitan appearance shunning aside every appearance of religious fidelity and become a secularist state. Young people whose parents lacking any spiritual depth have let them grow without any sort of firm compass making some of them vulnerable to these new bunch of fanatics. Young people who the light of love of Jesus couldn't reach because their countries, families and society prevented them from this opportunity in the quest to become secular are now streaming in their hundreds to this demonic magnet. In other parts of the world and Africa specifically the opposite approach has been employed an overwhelmingly cloying religiousness (Christian) has pervaded the continent almost every street has a church and every Friday night there is always a church praying or holding a Virgil but when you look at the society where such Christians live you'd expect to see a huge spiritual/biblical/moral influence but no, you see some of the worlds highest levels of corruption, impunity and wickedness. All of this in a largely Christian society or at least one with strong religious influence (Africa doesn't do atheists generally-ain't nobody got time for that madness)
Hosea 4:6 says my people are destroyed/perish because they lack knowledge. Knowledge here isn't science or logic based it is that which gained from discernment. The understanding that although this war is being fought on different fronts it's still the same enemy we are combating. This collection of radical groups isn't the real threat- if you destroy the puppeteer the puppet show ends instantly! This is a spiritual war and only spiritual weapons will have any kind of effect on it. Thankfully the church has been given the right weapons II Corinthians 10:4 tells us that we have those weapons as a matter of fact we've always had them.
In his book The Final Quest, (one that I strongly recommend to every one reading this) Rick Joyner states that the big war is coming and hell is calling together its ranks as is the glorious Lord. Even though the hurt that hell and its minions can inflict will be on the physical plane, our counter attacks cannot be on the same plane, recently four whistle blowers in the US intimated that the drone strikes were serving as a recruiting tool for these fanatics- essentially playing into their hands. Our governments whose reluctance to acknowledge the spiritual are bent on finding a military or even political solution are going to be massively disappointed, just as it has failed to yield any significant fruit in Israel it will fail with Isis, even if they succeed in dismantling them something far more evil will take its place (ask the governments if they'd take al-Qaeda over Isis if you're in doubt)
The church must rise up to pray against these principalities and their influences. how is it that the same Europe that sent missionaries to the whole world now has churches that are essentially museums? How is it that with all the churches in Africa some of the most corrupt systems exist there? This is a call to war!!! Not war with bullets, bombs and sanctions but one fought on our knees taking dominion over our countries and the regions where we live in, fighting against influences that turn sweet young men in their prime into remorseless killing machines, that turn the family into something not worth fighting for, that make multitudes of young people grow in single parent homes and force political correctness into a tool to stop the propagation of the gospel and one that muzzles the mouths of those that would speak out against corporate greed.
Let me state for emphasis that the war against terrorism will not be won by Twitter and Facebook hashtags, military action or political horse trading,it will be fought and won when the sons of God rise up, take their place and fight for the kingdom of their father on their knees and in the place of prayer and by the sharing of the gospel. Let every news you hear force you into your closet to pray, let every conversation be an avenue to show the glorious light and warmth of the love in the gospel. That is the ONLY way this war will be won. Skeptics will claim that this "pacifist" approach will bear no fruits but let me ask; when there is a forest fire do people throw gasoline and bombs into it or water?If in the natural these things are done thusly, why should we attempt to fight fire with fire in the spiritual?
Jesus will return imminently, lets us not be deceived into thinking that rallies hashtags and presidential speeches will stem this tide, this is a battle that will be won on our knees. Love that is from Jesus that compels us to our knees and makes us reach out to the world is still the most potent weapon. If you haven't known Jesus bow your head and invite him in right now. He will come in Revelation 3:20.
Please if this has blessed you or at least presented a different perspective to you, do well to share it. God bless you as you do so.
Lorenzo
