18 October 2023
As Fun_and_Prophet noted in a comment on the "Testimonial Weapons" post, some of you might find useful a guide to spiritual warfare cast as a procedure of steps. Keep in mind that this is a logical sequence, not necessarily how you would experience it. Most of us are facing multiple threats, and our attention would tend to be atomized based on what seems most pressing at the moment, and changing with the moment. Still, it's helpful for some to have a structure.
It's easy to get the metaphors twisted. Like anything genuinely spiritual in nature, clinical language will always fall short. I'm offering a perception that might work better for you than the stuff thrown at you in the past. There are a wealth of unspecified assumptions behind so much of what the Bible says, and just parroting the words of Scripture without the proper context can get you into all kinds of trouble.
Spiritual authority remains a matter of feudal grants from God. We could go on for days chatting about the ways God has granted special authority to various people, and not so much to others. And it would serve as a distraction, something that derails you from seizing the authority that God actually gives all of us. I want to lay the foundation of actions we all can take simply because we are Elect and observant of the Covenant, never mind special dispensations from God for unique missions.
Let's reemphasize that, in spiritual warfare, your power is limited to action in your own domain. The primary battle you are fighting is for the turf of your own soul. It's not exercising power over the world around you, but the world within. The most you can do for others is information: marking a common threat. How others respond is their own problem.
The dramatic casting out of demons from others depicted in Scripture would not work for a victim who enjoys the infestation. In terms of mechanics, you cannot command a spirit to leave someone who isn't ready for a deliverance. Something in the context must amount to the victim calling out to you for help, seeking to bring themselves under your covering. Know your domain.
And it's the same with valid biblical curses. We are simply declaring the judgment of God, not wielding the power ourselves. It's His power. If the simple act of notification does not result in change, that is not your concern except as a matter of prayer. The Covenant defines the boundaries of blessing versus defilement. Until we have a solid foundation of the Covenant understanding, we are just shooting in the dark.
Also, the Covenant implies community. If you are going to declare sin, who is that audience? I've already written plenty about how isolated we are on the Radix Fidem way. If you have no one geographically near to pray with you meaningfully, then you are a fool for not getting in contact via the virtual offering of connection. Get prayer coverage.
As others have said over and over: There are no Lone Ranger heroes in covenant faith. Every spiritual being -- angels, Satan and his minions, the elohim council -- outrank even the Elect in power. We are at a disadvantage here. God has warned repeatedly that He works through His children as family; that's how feudalism works. Spiritual authority is inherently tribal. With no tribe, you will find very limited authority. That's the nature of the Unseen Realm.
Finally, it requires purity and humility. Significant gaps in your covering, due to defilements, can destroy you.
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