PRÉCIS ON GOD’S PROTECTION OF HIS TRUE ONES: THE VIOLENCE OF HEAVEN SET AGAINST THE VIOLENCE OF HELL – ‘NULLUM CERTAMEN!’

SCRIPTURE. “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.” – PSALM 91:3, NKJV

KEY TERM: “SURELY HE SHALL DELIVER YOU!” ‘Natsal’ [יַ֭צִּֽילְךָ]: “A primitive root, ‘To snatch away!’” Also: To defend, to escape without fail; to rid [of one’s foes]; bestow power to overcome another; signifies warriors delivering oneself from sight; to strip of our spoil; to recover; to absolve from guilt, sin and transgression [and fear of recrimination]; to free; to release, as from restraint; to set at liberty; as, to deliver one from captivity; to rescue, or save.”

QUOTATION. “As we have learned, Power and Authority exercised with Persistence is the only language that the Devil understands. ‘We need to grasp the concept of Holy Violence, and to develop the Boldness it takes to use spiritual aggression effectively against the Enemy.’ God wants to teach us about this in order to help us move forward into our promised inheritance.” ― RABBI K. A. SCHNEIDER, Self-Deliverance: How to Gain Victory over the Powers of Darkness, 2015; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘He that by Faith chooses God for his Protector, shall find all in Him that he needs or can desire.’ And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their Refuge cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine Grace from the temptations of Satan, which are as the Snares of the Fowler, and from the contagion of sin, which is a Noisome Pestilence.

‘Great Security is Promised to believers in the midst of Danger.’ Wisdom shall keep them from being afraid without cause, and Faith shall keep them from being unduly afraid. Whatever is done, our Heavenly Father’s Will is done; and we have no reason to fear. God’s people shall see, not only God’s Promises fulfilled, but His Threatenings. Then let sinners come unto the Lord upon His Mercy-Seat, through theRedeemer’s Name; and encourage others to trust in Him also.” – MATTHEW HENRY, Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, 6 vols., 1708-1710; edited

DK’S TAKE. For me, the Raging Spiritual War takes place primarily on the Field of Thoughts, the Mind, and its associate Emotions that give it force. So, while God is faithful to the penitent who cries out to Him for Deliverance, He also expects Us to do our part.

Specifically, through the AGENCY OF IMPRECATION: “The word ‘Imprecate’ means to pray evil against’ or to invoke disaster upon … Imprecatory language, then, signifies calling down divine judgment on an enemy of the [believer].” – EDITORS, “The Imprecatory Psalms,” Shepherds Theological Seminary, ret. Oct. 17, 2024; edited

Most of us have been taught to pray quiet, reverent, humble, and by unknowing implication, timid little whispers. But there is an intriguing Word that Jesus spoke concerning what I believe He had in mind when we are engaged in a Great Struggle of some sort.

“Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you … And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize—a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].” – LUKE 10:19; MATTHEW 11:12, AMPC

IMPLICATIONS. Therefore if I am being tormented by poisonous thoughts and endless temptations, or by a series of adverse circumstances that are destroying me or especially my work for Christ’s Kingdom, then I have two choices: (1) Pray quietly and perhaps tearfully to God about my many afflictions; or (2) Bring out the Sword of the Spirit alongside the Belt of Truth, and have straight at Satan’s strategies and attacks!

This Means: I wield the Word of God ‘violently’ against the Lies of the Enemy and frankly, to: “Lay them waste in the Name of Jesus Christ!’ Yup, just like that, and I don’t usually pray quiet as I do so.

At such times, we are to: ‘Pray in the Command Authority of Jesus!’ Citing the Scriptures as He did in the Desert when tempted by Satan:

“Then Jesus was led by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After He had gone without food for forty days and forty nights, He became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But Jesus replied, ‘It is written and forever remains written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’” – MATTHEW 4:1-11, AMP

CODA. Beloved, we are about to enter the darkest, most violent era in all of human history. And indeed, there shall be plenty of opportunities to ‘Pray the Prayer of Humility and Repentance.’ But at other times, when you feel like you are surrounded by “The many bulls of Bashan,” it’s time to bring out the Heavy Spiritual Artillery.

I promise you, it can many times make all the difference. Why?

THIS: “Is not My word like fire [that consumes all that cannot endure the test]? says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks in pieces the rock [of most stubborn resistance]?” – JEREMIAH 12:29, AMPC

In Sum: We approach the Kingdom of God with all fearful reverence. But we approach the Kingdom of Darkness with strength, volume and Command Authority, in the name of our King!