Spiritual Warfare - What Are We Fighting For? By Mike McClung

And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:7-8).

I used to believe this passage of scripture was metaphorical.  I do not believe this any longer in light of the realization of 24/7 houses of prayer arising all across the globe.  The restoration of the spirit of the Tabernacle of David (Acts 15:15-17; Amos 9:11-13) is literally being fulfilled in this generation.  Multi-generational companies of Christians are arising in many cities.  They yearn to see the vision, burden and calling of what is taking place around the throne of God (Rev. 4&5) established on earth as happened in King David’s day. (1 Chron. 16.)  A place for the glory of the Lord is being prepared in many geographic locations as the bride of Christ enters into the fullness of her priestly ministry and identity.  Once the priestly identity and ministry of the bride is restored, then the anointing of the Head will begin to flow over the entire body. (Psalm 133:1-3.) 

This anointing comes from the Head, the King-Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Once we enter into the fullness of His ministry as the eternal Intercessor (Heb. 7:25), then His kingly anointing will flow over His body, releasing the “commanded blessing” of God.  The commanded blessing of God is the release of everything He has promised in His word and personally, to each of us. This will bring a manifestation of the kingdom of God that will affect not only humanity, through salvation, healing and deliverance, but also the very earth itself as is currently being witnessed in many places such as Almolonga, Guatemala.  George Otis, Jr. of The Sentinel Group in Washington state, has chronicled the transformation of Almolonga from that of a demonized city where abuse, drunkenness and poverty were pervasive, to one where approximately 96% of the population claim to be born again Christians and the agrarian economy is overflowing in abundance.  The people and pastors in this small city testify that they prayed and fasted in desperation until a breakthrough came in the form of the commanded blessing of the Lord.  When the Lord hears His saints cry out to Him day and night, the righteous Judge of the earth will hear, answer, forgive sin and heal the land. (2 Chron. 7:14.)  This reflects the historical testimony of cities, regions and areas that have experienced true outpourings of revival, such as Wales in 1904-05, the Scottish Hebridean island of Lewis in 1949-52, and many other too numerous to list here.  The commanded blessing comes when the saints on earth get in a position of agreement in prayer and humility. This is when His justice begins to flow into the earth in restoring and transforming power.  The righteous Judge is allowed to take His place as Head of His body.  As the Head, Christ Jesus, and His body join, the “circuit” is completed between heaven and earth.  Jacob’s Ladder (Gen. 28:12) becomes a reality as a portal is opened between heaven and earth.  As we, the people of God, allow Him to judge, purge and purify our lives, never ceasing to press into Him because of His promises, His restorative justice will be released and restore all things. (Acts 3:19-20.)  In the same way that His restorative justice comes to restore His power and promises among His people, it also becomes punitive judgment to the powers of darkness, and subsequently to all people who unrepentantly align themselves with these demonic powers.

So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame (Joel 2:25-27).

 

Everything that has been stolen, destroyed or perverted will be restored when the justice of God is released, and this restoration will come in one generation.  Every saint who has suffered sickness, loss or persecution will enjoy a sevenfold anointing and authority released to them, their families and their ministries to heal, deliver and restore.  The loved ones of any saint who met an untimely death will have released to them, their children and their generation, a sevenfold anointing and authority to raise the dead.  We are in the “qualification” phase of passing the tests of faithfulness as we train as end-time worshipping warriors.  We are a part of a final generation who will individually and corporately see the fulfillment of every prophecy, vision, scripture and promise, both natural and spiritual, and come into the fullness of God’s presence and purposes.  But, this is not automatic.  Just like the children of Israel were called to go in and fight for the inheritance that the Lord had laid up for them, we too must fight for this inheritance and displace an enemy who has held God’s treasures captive.  We are fighting to enter into our bridal identity as the intimate, praying, worshipping, faithful overcomers who remain in love with Him, following Him, no matter what the cost.  Hebrews 11:13-40 gives a long list of those saints who not only did great exploits and conquered kingdoms, but also of the faithful saints who suffered for the sake of the Lord, who never got what was promised them, but still followed faithfully. They knew that there would arise a generation who would possess what they obtained, by faith, as an inheritance, but did not see it manifest in their day.  These faithful saints will see the full manifestation, only through the generation that fully possesses that for which they laid down their lives.  Heaven and earth will be joined together in that day and every generation and generational promise will be released and fulfilled!

Here are some of the promises waiting to be released to an end-time generation that will contend for them:

• “Greater works” than those performed by the Lord Jesus. (John 14:12.)
• Fully seeing and experiencing the manifestation of God’s glory in their midst and in the earth. (Numbers 14:20; Isaiah 60:1-3; Hab. 2:14; Hag. 2:7-9.)
• Every enemy, including death, destroyed and made the Lord’s footstool. (Ps. 110:1; Heb. 1:13; 10:13.)
• Full restoration of both natural and spiritual inheritance:
• Individually (personal promises, prophecies, visions, etc).
• Families.
• Cultural and ethnic.
• Mantles and callings.
• A harvest of the earth and the nations becoming the Lord’s inheritance. (Psalm 2.)
• The restoration of the Tabernacle of David (Acts 15:15-17; Amos 9:11-13):
• The unveiled glory of God in the midst of His people.
• Apostolic authority and government (Isaiah 22:22; Rev. 3:7-8).
• Unbroken intimacy and communion.
• Restoration of music and the arts.
• Holiness.
• Effective spiritual warfare and mass evangelism (Acts 15:17).
• The turning of the nation of Israel to Messiah and being grafted back in (Amos 9:13).
• Plus many other things waiting to be revealed. (1 Pet. 3-5.)

There are natural and spiritual “technologies” reserved in heaven that are waiting to be released to those the Lord finds faithful.  It is my understanding that Albert Einstein received the Theory of Relativity as a vision.  Where did it come from?  I would say…from God.  Daniel saw a time when knowledge would increase and “books” in heaven would be opened (Dan. 12:4) so that revelation could be released to a generation who would fully enter into God’s promises and purposes.  Some of these “technologies,” in ancient times past, were illegitimately obtained through angelic beings who rebelled against God, and brought them to earth before it was time to release them to man.

Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart (Gen. 6:1-6).

There are divine rankings within the angelic order, just as there are rankings within the demonic realm.  These beings have specific authority assigned to them that is supposed to be used to watch over and care for humanity. (Heb. 1:14.)  The scripture tells us that there were angelic beings back before the flood, who were assigned to watch over nations, cultures and peoples to guard them and keep them in the Lord’s purposes until the day came when the Lord would release the fullness of the inheritance He had originally laid up for man.  I personally believe that those heavenly blessings were purposefully held up until redemption could be accomplished, because, as the scripture states here, sin had brought corruption, evil and self-centeredness to humanity.  Jesus came to this earth to not only effect an eternal redemption for humanity, but also to release the fullness of the heavenly realm (healing, deliverance, life, provision, and dimensions of power held in the heavenly realm).  The scripture says that these angels who were entrusted with a watch-care over man, would also, in the fullness of time, release these heavenly mantles, callings and “technologies” to man.  But these angelic beings, known as “watchers” (see Daniel 4:13, 17), left their “estate” to lust after women, had sexual intercourse with them, and produced an offspring with a genetic pool that joined a spiritual “DNA” to a human DNA.  The offspring were called the “Nephilim,” or giants (“men of renown”).  These fallen, angelic beings also passed to fallen man spiritual knowledge, understanding and power that man began to utilize for evil and violence, that eventually almost led to annihilation. (Gen. 6:11-13.)  Jude 1:6 says of these angelic beings: And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day…. These angelic beings had done something so heinous in the sight of God, that God placed them in a prison where they would not be allowed to operate until the time when God would begin to judge all things.  There are still holy “watcher” angels who operate between heaven and earth, releasing wisdom, knowledge and anointing to men that will help to get things set in place so the Lord Jesus can return.

The passage from Jude is a quotation from the book of Enoch, a book from the Apocrypha.  Although the books in the Apocrypha do not fully pass the tests of Canonicity, at least in the Protestant camp, the apostles evidently did give credence to their truthfulness and authenticity in certain matters as is witnessed in Jude 6 and by Peter in 2 Pet. 2:3-4.  Both Jude and Peter are commenting on things by virtue of their familiarity with the book of Enoch, which is attributed to the Enoch of Genesis.  According to Genesis 5:21-24, Enoch entered into a realm of the Spirit in intimacy with God in which he saw and experienced things no other man did.  Jude 14-15, quoting from the book of Enoch, states that Enoch entered into such a prophetic domain in the Spirit that he saw the second coming of Messiah 3000 years before Christ was born.  Enoch pressed into the Lord by “walking with God.” As a result, he entered into the inheritance domain to such an extent that he could no longer be allowed to walk on the earth by the Lord. He probably did not “fit” any longer, and there was a danger of him revealing to the world what was not to be just yet, in the purposes and timing of God.  However, around this same time, this certain class of angels, the “watchers,” lusted after women, and somehow had sexual relations with them, bringing forth a mutant race born to fallen, unredeemed man.  The book of Enoch speaks about these angels imparting to man heavenly secrets about creation, science, the arts, engineering, physics, and many other physical and spiritual dimensions.  Paul Keith Davis, who is a good friend, once told us while ministering during a conference our ministry was hosting, of prophecies he has read dating back to the sixties, where prophets had visions of the people in the race before the flood (antediluvian), who had harnessed light (lasers?) by which they cut stones for building.  So precise were these stone cuttings that mortar was not even needed to fit them together.  Such would be one explanation for the wonders of the ancient world, like the pyramids.  It’s amazing that the mind of man would more easily accept the existence of a highly advance extraterrestrial race of beings visiting the earth than the simple explanation the Lord has given us in His word!

Satan fell before man was created.  These angelic “watchers” fell after man was created, and after sin entered the human race.  The inheritance of heaven that God wanted to release to man was not supposed to be released until after man was redeemed through the Messiah.  These angels rebelled against the Lord and released some of these revelations, authority and knowledge to fallen man, and with these insights, knowledge and giftings, corrupt man used them for evil, selfish and depraved things.  The book of Enoch even talks about the half-man, half-demon beings (Nephilim), and how violent, lustful and cannibalistic they were.  Somehow, even through the flood, the gene pool of these demonic offspring survived (Noah’s sons married women of that era), because Goliath was a descendant of these men/beings.  All flesh on the earth was corrupt, evil and violent; that is, all except for Enoch and Noah.

The “watchers” that did not fall into rebellion, but remained loyal to God, have been waiting for the “kairos” seasons of the Lord to release their holdings to the redeemed sons of God.  One such angel is seen in the book of Daniel in Daniel chapter 10, and also in chapter 10 of the book of Revelation. This is the time of the end when the books are opened and revelation and authority is being entrusted to the mature sons of God who will release Christ’s authority and government on earth.  This is to prepare humanity and the earth for His return.  On October 12, 2004, I had an encounter with one such “watcher” angel.

On the morning of October 12, 2004, I was in the Lionheart Ministries prayer room early, alone in prayer.  The entire fellowship that I pastor and the ministries that I oversee had been in an intense time of prayer, worship and fasting seeking the Lord for a greater revelation of Himself and His power.  I was pacing back and forth in the altar area in front of the stage praying and seeking the Lord.  Suddenly, I sensed the presence of someone or something coming into the auditorium. When I turned back to look at the door to see who it was, I saw a large “man” standing in the doorway, just inside the auditorium.  I could not make out the features, but who or whatever it was, had the appearance of a cape over their head and back.  I was not fearful at all, but I asked, “Who are you?”  The figure just stood there, so I asked the Lord who or what this was, and the Lord answered, “He’s a watcher.”  I turned around and saw the figure had gone.  I immediately went back to my office and began to search out the term “watcher” in the scriptures, and was led to Daniel 4:13 & 17, which says:

I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven…This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men.

This encounter stirred me to begin researching angelic watchers. 

The watchers are evidently a high level of angelic beings (teraphim – those given authority in the earth realm, and can take on human appearance and attributes) who are part of the council or courtroom of God (see Dan. 7:9-10).  It appears that they have specific oversight and authority for declaring and carrying out the purposes of God in their due seasons (Rev. 10).  The word “watcher”, in the Aramaic, comes from a root word meaning “to awaken”.  That same morning of the aforementioned visitation, I contacted Paul Keith Davis to ask him what he knew about the watchers.  He basically confirmed what I had been studying and researching, but also added these watchers were being sent to open “portals” between heaven and earth. Just prior to receiving this confirmation back from Paul Keith, the staff of the ministry went to lunch that day.  I could not get the encounter that morning out of my mind as I had continued to meditate on trying to determine what the Lord was doing.  During lunch, the presence of the Lord increased upon everyone in our party; we could barely function and soon returned to the church facility.  When I entered the building the “weight” of God’s presence was so heavy upon me that I could hardly stand, so I went into the sanctuary/prayer room and laid down in the altar area.  The weight of God’s presence grew stronger and heavier with each passing minute.  My tongue was so “thick” that I could hardly speak, and I was so disoriented I could hardly put two coherent words together.  I finally made it back to my office and received Paul Keith’s email, and then I called him to talk with him directly a little more about what was happening.  The Lord had obviously sent an angel to open a portal in our area.  While I was talking to Paul Keith, our administrator, came into my office and said, “You’ve got to come and see this!”  It was about an hour before our regular Tuesday evening corporate intercession time in our fellowship, and people were beginning to drive into the parking lot.  I was told to go to the front parking lot, and when I did, I found about 25 or 30 of our people standing in a circular area worshipping the Lord outside.  When I walked over to the area I found the power of God more pronounced.  It was almost like a force field surrounding the people inside of it.  I could literally put my hand into this “circle” and feel something like electricity begin to shoot through my hand and arm.  A portal had opened where we were.

There are dimensions to the inheritance the Lord has laid up for us that are waiting to be revealed in these last days.  Dimensions in science, engineering, music and the arts, technology, and exploring the realm of the Spirit, are only small parts of an inexhaustible list.  When the Lord hears His saints crying out with unceasing desire for Him, His justice, and for His purposes to be unveiled and released, He will answer speedily.  Is there a generation who will contend in prayer, worship and obedience until the breakthrough comes?

Questions for Reflection:

What is the commanded blessing?

Who will obtain the commanded blessing?

Who are the watchers? What is their role?
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This article was adapted from a chapter in Mike McClung's book, "Restoring the Ruins." For more information on this and other Lionheart Restoration Ministries resources, click here.

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