SPIRITUAL WARFARE: FEAR

Spiritual Warfare 5:   FEAR

 

Is it possibleto win a war without physically fighting a battle? The esteemed Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu once said,The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.             Throughout history, fear has been used as a weapon. It has been used to control populations, to frighten soldiers from the battlefield and to silence those who would choose to speak out against evil. In short, it has been used to subdue people without fighting. Let’s dive deeper into this and find out how fear has been used in the past and how Israel’s    enemy uses fear against us.   In 218 B.C., Hannibal, the great Carthaginian general led his forces on a bold journey across the Alps to attack the Romans on their home turf. His incredible trek was not an easy one and his fighting force was not small. His army    included 70,000 soldiers, 20,000 horses and 37 elephants…. that’s right, elephants.   Not ordinary elephants but War Elephants!

 

Can you imagine being a Roman soldier standing on the battlefield armed with a short sword or spear when in the distance you see coming at you a great beast like you’ve never seen in your life? Riding on top of this giant animal are the soldiers of Carthage loosening arrows and throwing spears. There are written accounts of these elephants wiping entire lines of Roman soldiers off the battlefield in one single charge. So effective were the elephants that many a Roman soldier threw down their  weapons and ran from the field of battle. They simply were too afraid to fight.             The early months of 793 A.D. were indeed worrisome times in England. Anglo-Saxon writers in northern England at the time recalled how ‘immense whirlwinds, flashes of lightning and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air above the sea.’ They thought these aerial phenomena were portents of imminent disaster. They were right.   On the morning of June 8th793 A.D, a Viking longship made ground at Lindisfarne off of the coast of what is now Northumberland. Lindisfarne was the center of Anglo-Saxon Christendom. The Viking’s raid was so swift and ferocious that no one on the island fought back. They were quite literally paralyzed with fear.

 

This raid marked the beginning of the Viking period in Europe. The fearful whispers about Lindisfarne permeated all of Europe and the Vikings became feared throughout the lands. There are many recorded incidents of entire villages surrendering to the Vikings upon the sight of a dragon longship at sea before they could make shore.    The Viking period in Europe lasted 250 years. Fear is indeed a powerful weapon.             King Saul and the men of Israel camped in the Valley of Elah. They eventually moved up in battle formations on the side of a mountain in order to confront the Philistines. After maneuvering his soldiers into place, King Saul was astonished at what he saw, instead of a line of Philistine  soldiers marching towards the Israelites, a giant emerged from the opposite side of the mountain. The giant, Goliath, carried a huge spear and saber and wore massive amounts of bronze armor about his enormous body.    The giant stepped forward and challenged the Israelite men to single combat. He swore if one Israelite man could best him that all the Philistine warriors would lay down their arms and become the slaves of the Israelites. Scripture tells us that out of fear of Goliath, not one man answered the call.When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very fearful.1 Samuel 17:11   We know the rest of the story. We know God called forth a champion to conquer the giant. The boy David faced Goliath without fear and would later become Israel’s King. David boldly fought God’s enemy and we are told that David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

 

King David’s courage before God’s enemy foreshadowed our Savior’s courage against the Synagogue of Satan.             There are several instances in the New Testament where we are given examples of men being afraid of the Jews and afraid of violating their laws and customs. We know Jesus’ Uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, sought Pilate’s permission to remove Jesus’ body because he was afraid of the Jews (John 19:38). We also know the disciples were gathered together on the first day of the week with the door locked because of their fear of breaking the Jews’ laws and suffering their wrath (John 20:19). Even those who received the miracles of healing from Jesus were afraid to speak His name for fear of the Jews (John 9:18-22).   There is another story from the Book of John that deals with the fear of the Jews and how it was properly handled. In John 7, we are told that the Jews were looking to kill Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath.    Jesus was in Galilee at the time, and His brothers urged him to move on to Judea in order to teach His     disciples. It was feast time in Judea and Jesus knew the Jews would arrest and kill Him if He was found there.   Instead of heeding His brothers’ urging, Jesus told them to go to the feast in Judea. During the feast the Jews were actively looking for Jesus and we are told many whispered in secret about His teachings and miraculous works. Others claimed He was an impostor, but no one spoke of Jesus openly for fear of the Jews.               So the Jews were looking for Him at the feast and saying, “Where is He?” And there was a great deal of talk about Him in secret among the crowds: some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the   contrary, He is misleading the people.” However, no one was speaking openly about Him, for fear of the Jews.John 7:11-13   What no one knew was after sending His brothers into Judea, Jesus Himself walked into Judea unnoticed and went directly to the vipers’ den. While the Jews were out hunting Jesus, He was at the temple teaching and preaching. Talk about no fear! (John 7:14)   The Book of John tells us the Jews were “astonished” at Jesus’ actions. The Jews challenged Jesus publicly and he gave it right back to them! As my dear Grandmother would say, “He gave them what for and then some!”   Later in Chapter 7 we find out the Jews sent officers to arrest Jesus. These officers later came back to the Jews empty handed. When asked why they did not arrest Jesus the officers replied, “Never has a man spoken this way!” (John 7:46)   What did Jesus do to “astonish” the Jews. What did He say that caused the officers not to arrest Him? Well, He spoke the TRUTH. He spoke the truth of His Father, He spoke the truth about the Jews and stayed true to the mission He was called to. No one at the time was so bold and fearless. Jesus was about His Father’s business.   It is 2025. Do the Jews still command the degree of fear that they did when Jesus walked in Judea? The kind of fear where no one would speak Jesus’ name as to be heard?

 

His name was only to be heard in whispers for fear of the Jews.    Does that kind of fear exist today?   Do any of these sound familiar?   · “I could lose my job if I speak out.” · “People will not want to do business with me if I say what I think about things.” · “Don’t speak so openly about things or you will end up on a list.” · “I don’t want people to think I’m a racist or Anti-Semite.”   How about being labeled one of these by the media?   · Racist · Bigot · Anti-Semite · White Supremacist · White Nationalist · Patriot · Militiaman · Member of a Hate Group · Anti-Government · Etc., etc., etc.   Then there are the lawfare groups.   · The ADL · The ACLU · The SPLC   Not to mention the thefts, threats and tragedies we have witnessed in our time that has befallen those who did dare speak the truth.   At the beginning of this article, I quoted Sun Tzu as saying,The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.Our enemy is counting on our fear to subdue us without a fight.

 

Let us not be the timid soul who only speaks of   Jesus in whispers amongst ourselves. Instead, let us show the kind of courage David showed when he faced down the giant. Let us show the kind of courage our Savior showed when he walked in the vipers’ nest and stared them down.             Just like David and King Jesus, may we know what our mission is and may we be about our Father’s business; being free from fear of the Jews. Rather, let us be in reverent fear of the Lord God Almighty and His judgement.   After all, show me who you are afraid of and I will show you who you serve.

  From the Scriptures for America Dragon Slayer newsletter, 2025 Vol. 5.