by Dutch Sheets
Also, similar to the rest of us, she sometimes grew frustrated and tried to take things into her own hands, saying things such as, "You just need to give your life to the Lord" or "You have to quit doing the stuff you're doing." Predictably, this would only result in her seeing the pride and rebellion in Kevin rise up, actually making things worse. "Then I would really feel like I had blown it," she said.
"Kevin was heading down a rocky road. He had major problems, including drugs, depression and extreme anger," Marlena relates.
Early in 1995 she took a class of mine in which I taught these principles about praying for the lost. Marlena shared them with her husband, Patrick, and their children. They began to pray the principles over Kevin. They specifically prayed the following (all parenthetical remarks are mine):
• That God would lift the veil over him (revelation and enlightenment)
• For the Holy Spirit to hover over him and protect him
• For godly people to be in his pathway each day
• To cast down anything that would exalt itself against the knowledge of God, specifically pride and rebellion (This would include the hupsoma aspect of the stronghold.)
• To take down all known strongholds-thought patterns, opinions on religion, materialism, fear (This is the logismos dimension of the stronghold.)
• To bind Satan from taking Kevin captive; to bind all wicked thoughts and lies Satan would try to place in Kevin's mind (These would be the noema aspect of the stronghold.)
• That the armor of God would be placed on him
After two weeks of praying in this way, Kevin overdosed on drugs and, in his time of need, cried out to God. "The Lord met him in a powerful way. The veil was definitely lifted and he had a revelation of God. He now has an understanding of the Word and responds to it. The confusion is gone! Kevin separated himself from the world and his former friends. He is now pursuing God and Christian relationships. His focus is on pleasing God, knowing Him more and more. He is even considering missions."
"We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19). Yet we have been given authority! We can turn unbelievers "from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God" (Acts 26:18). We are called to enforce and make effectual the freedom Christ procured.
The unbeliever cannot war for himself. He cannot and will not overcome the strongholds of darkness, and he will not understand the gospel until the veil lifts. We must take our divinely dynamic weapons and fight. The powers of darkness will resist, but "do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses" (Neh. 4:14).
Questions for Reflection
1. What is meant by the word "veil" in 2 Corinthians 4:3? How does this apply to unsaved people? Can you explain how this is related to a biblical revelation?
2. What is meant by Satan's "blinding" the minds of unbelievers? How is this connected to the Fall of humanity? How is this significant where men (versus women) are concerned?
3. Explain the meaning of enlightenment. Can you describe the analogy to this and photography?
4. What is the true meaning of repentance? How is this connected to biblical revelation?
5. Define a stronghold. Now describe the three aspects of the stronghold in unbelievers and how intercession can be applied to each.
6. Who are you going to do this for? Will it work for them? Hallelujah!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE LIGHTNING OF GOD
Strike the Mark
This was about the coolest thing I had discovered since baseball. I was in the fifth grade, and in that ornery, but not mean, "can't stand baths," "all girls have cooties" stage of life. I had recently procured my first magnifying glass.
I'm not sure how I discovered I could hold a magnifying glass at just the right angle to the sun and catch a piece of paper on fire. I didn't do anything majorly bad, like the time I nearly burned the science classroom down with my volcanic exhibition. Never did figure out why that teacher gave me a C Just because he had to run to the window with a burning volcano and throw it outside. Looked pretty real to me. Nor was it like the time I burned the kitchen cabinets because I forgot about the frenchfry grease. I didn't get a grade on that endeavor, although my mom's response was very educational.
This was nothing like those incidents. I just burned a piece of paper on the playground. Then this brilliant idea leaped up from my fallen Adamic psyche. I called my friends over, assuring them I had a really cool demonstration to show them. Looking at Duncan, one of the mean guys in the class, I said to him in my best "you're the lucky guy" tone of voice, "Duncan, hold your hand out. I want to show you something."
Duncan didn't leave his hand there very long. He chased me all around that playground! Some guys just can't take a joke.
Is there a picture of intercession hidden anywhere in this? Yes. One of the ways paga is translated is "strike the mark." The reference is job 36:32: "He covers His hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark" (emphasis added). When God releases His light, causing it to flash forth from His presence like lightning, its striking the desired target is likened to intercession.
Although the word paga is not used, Habakkuk 3:4 also speaks of light flashing forth from the hand of God: "His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power." The Amplified translation is also very descriptive: "And His brightness was like the sunlight; rays streamed from His hand, and there [in the sunlike splendor] was the hiding place of His power."
We are like a magnifying glass in one sense-no, we don't add to or magnify God's power-but we do let the "Son" shine forth through us, directing His light to desired situations, allowing it to "strike the mark."
Have you ever seen a tree struck by lightning? If so, you've seen a picture of intercession. I do lots of praying in a woods nearby. At times I come across trees struck by lightning. The lightning is so hot it literally changes the molecular structure of the trees and twists the trunks until they look like the stripes on a candy cane. The temperature in a lightning bolt can reach 30,000 degrees Celsius (45,000 degrees Fahrenheit), hotter than the surface of the sun. That's hot stuff! And God uses this to picture His judgments!
If I have my theology straight, the Creator must be greater than the creation. That means the power or energy in God is greater than a lightning bolt. No wonder the Scriptures say, "As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish before God.... The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord.... He raised His voice, the earth melted" (Pss. 68:2; 97:5; 46:6).
"For our God IS a consuming fire!" (Heb. 12:29).
To explain this chapter adequately, I need to lay a good foundation. Therefore, I want us to look at quite a few Scriptures that associate God with light or lightning. One of the purposes of looking at so many is to demonstrate the consistency and prevalency of this theme. I hope you don't get bored with the Bible. If you do, you probably should skip this chapter. Better yet, repent and read on!
God Is Light
The following verses associate God with light or lightning, and there are numerous others that could be given. I have italicized various words or phrases to call your attention to the theme of light:
1 John 1:5: "And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."
Hebrews 1:3 (AMP): "He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the outraying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God's] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high."
1 Timothy 6:16: "Who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him
be honor and eternal dominion! Amen." (See also Jas. 1:17; Exod. 19:16; Ezek. 1:14; Rev. 4:5.)
At times His light, or the release of it, is associated with His glory. The following verses are examples of this:
Luke 2:9: "And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened."
Luke 9:29,32: "And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. . . . Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him." (We read in the margin of the NASB that the word "gleaming" means literally `flashing like lightning." Wuest also translates it this way. No wonder Peter wanted to build tabernacles there!)
Revelation 21:23: "And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb."
(See also 2 Cor. 3:7.)
Sometimes this light, lightning or glory of God is released from His mouth and often called a sword. The first four verses identify God's words or mouth as His sword. The remaining verses make the connection to light or lightning:
Ephesians 6:17: "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Revelation 2:16: "Repent therefore; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth."
Revelation 19:15: "And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty."
(See also Heb. 4:12.)
Psalm 29:7 (AMP): "The voice of the Lord splits and flashes forth forked lightning."
Ezekiel 21:9-10,15,28: "Son of man, prophesy and say, `Thus says the Lord,' Say, `A sword, a sword sharpened and also polished! Sharpened to make a slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! ... I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made for striking like lightning, it is wrapped up in readiness for slaughter.... And you, son of man, prophesy and say, `Thus says the Lord God concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach,' and say: `A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for the slaughter, to cause it to consume, that it may be like lightning."
Deuteronomy 32:41 (AMP): "If I whet My lightning sword and My hand takes hold on judgment, I will wreak vengeance on My foes and recompense those who hate Me." (Sometimes movies can have interesting parallels to Scripture. Luke Skywalker from Star Wars isn't the only one who overcomes evil with a sword of light. God has the real one!)
(See also Ps. 18:13-14; Hos. 6:5, NIV.)
Thus far, we have God associated with light or lightning, which sometimes shines forth as His glory. It is released from His mouth at times, becoming a powerful weapon. The following Scriptures speak of God's light in the context of Him dealing with His enemies:
Psalm 97:3-4: "Fire goes before Him, and burns up His adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world; the earth saw and trembled."
Revelation 8:5: "And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake."
Revelation 16:18: "And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty."
(See also Ps. 78:48; Rev. 11:19.)
These last few Scriptures associate the release of God's light in the context of deliverance of His people:
Psalm 18:14: "And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, and lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them."
Psalm 77:17-18: "The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth a sound; Thy arrows flashed here and there. The sound of Thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook."
Psalm 144:6: "Flash forth lightning and scatter them; send out Thine arrows and confuse them."
(See also Ps. 27:1.)
According to all these and other fascinating Scriptures, God is light and at times this light or glory flashes forth from Him as bolts of lightning. Many times the Bible says that in order to deal with His enemies-whether for Himself or His people-God simply releases this glory or light into the situation. It flashes forth like lightning and PAGA HAPPENS! God's power "strikes the mark."
This happened once several thousand years ago when there was a coup attempt in heaven. Lucifer, inflated with pride, decided he would exalt himself to God's position. "Not!" as my kids would say.
Bad idea, Satan.
This war didn't last long-about as long as it takes for a lightning bolt to flash its brilliant light across the sky. Jesus said it this way in Luke 10:18-20 (Sheets's paraphrase): "Don't get excited, guys, just because demons are subject to you in My name. That's no big deal. I watched Satan cast from heaven. It didn't take long-lightning flashed and he was gone. Get excited because you have a relationship with God."
Light Overcomes Darkness
We don't know that lightning literally flashed when Satan was ousted, but for some reason Jesus used this picture. He said it was "like lightning" (v. 18). 1 believe it actually flashed. It doesn't really matter, however, because whether or not it literally flashed, the analogy is certainly given of light overcoming darkness.
In fact, I don't necessarily think that in all of the previously mentioned references, literal lightning bolts were observable in the natural realm of sight. At times there certainly were, as when Christ's clothes were glowing and flashing at His transfiguration or when His glory lights the throne room of heaven.
The point, however, is not what can be seen with the human eye, but what happens in the spiritual realm: Light overcomes darkness. And the light is more than a symbolic representation of God's goodness or purity; it represents His power or energy. So whether the lightning itself is literal or symbolic, the results are the same: God's power overcoming the kingdom of darkness.
This analogy of darkness and light is prevalent throughout Scripture. Another powerful example of God's light prevailing over the darkness of Satan is at the Cross. John 1:4-5 says, "In Him was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
The word "comprehend" is the Greek word katalambano, which can mean either "comprehend" or "apprehend.", Many scholars believe it should be translated with the latter word in this passage because the powers of darkness were not trying to comprehend or understand Christ. They were trying to apprehend or overpower Him, much like a policeman would apprehend a criminal. This makes much more sense to me.
Wuest translates verse 5 accordingly: "And the light in the darkness is constantly shining. And the darkness did not overwhelm it." Moffatt says it this way: "Amid the darkness the light shone, but the darkness did not master it." The Cross was a war-light overcoming darkness. God arose and His enemies were scattered.
Bob Woods, in Pulpit Digest, tells the story of a couple who took their son, 11, and daughter, 7, to Carlsbad Caverns. As always, when the tour reached the deepest point in the cavern, the guide turned off all the lights to dramatize how completely dark and silent it is below the earth's surface. The little girl, suddenly enveloped in utter darkness, was frightened and began to cry. Immediately was heard the voice of her brother: "Don't cry. Somebody here knows how to turn on the lights."'
All creation was terrified, groping in the darkness of sin. Two thousand years ago, God announced to His groping and frightened humans, "Don't cry. Somebody here knows how to turn on the lights."
I believe Satan has some reoccurring nightmares. One of them is when the light-lightning-flashed in heaven and kicked him out. He probably hates thunderstorms. Why, they even sound like the majestic voice of God!
"The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High
uttered His voice, hailstones and coals of fire. And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, and lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them" (Ps. 18:13-14, emphasis added).
"The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord is over many waters" (Ps. 29:3, emphasis added).
Imagine Satan's horror when the light of God flashed forth at the Cross, the same light that had expelled him from heaven. I can just hear him screaming, "Oh, no. Hear it comes again! He wouldn't let me have heaven and He won't let me have Earth either."
The Lightning Anointing
Yes, at the Cross the counterfeit "angel of light" met Mr. Light Himself and nothing has been the same since! The great "light" being even reproduced Himself into a bunch of little lights"For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light" (Eph. 5:8)-filling them with His very glory!
For the first time Satan understood Isaiah 60:1-3:
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you. And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Bummer! he must have thought.
For the first time he understood that the Old Testament temple was a picture of us, this new race of people called Christians ("little Christs"), and that the glory of God was in every one of them. "Major bummer!"
Which brings things back to us. Please read the following statements carefully, making each connection. If intercession is pictured by God's lightning striking the mark . . . and if Christ's work of intercession when He met Satan, breaking his headship, was light overcoming darkness . . . and if our praying intercession simply releases or re-presents Christ's . . . then I think it safe to say that our intercession releases the lightning of God to flash forth into situations, bringing devastation to the powers of darkness:
