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Forum: Theological Expressions
Date: 2001, Aug 27
From: Wahshing Wahshing

I had been skeptical over this spiritual warfare thing, it has actually gone to such an extend that we have cell members who use it on all fronts ...meaning.. when their children gets sick, fall down, problems at work, disagreement over church direction...etc (you name it, the list can get endless...)
Not to long ago.. our church had some sort of spiritual mapping and our pastors , prayer warriors and warefare people move around the island breaking strongholds and identifying dark areas. The following week, we had some debriefing on this at cell level and we were told that some areas of Singapore like Bishan (a residential estate here) are darker than the rest of Singapore. If I can still recall correctly... Toa Payoh (another residual heartland) was identified as the seat of some deity.
This was probably done about the time, my church introduced spiritual warfare as taught by Peter Wagner to us. This session on spiritual warware was given from the pulpit and I believe many will still recall such a sermon, while Senior Pastor spoke of the statue of Mary in Turkey which was actually a biblical goddess... etc That was a really interesting sermon ... new wave .. new ideas.. I say again I became skeptical for the results it produced. Much of this new teachings / directions .. to my opinion are not new revelations given to this church.. but are imported methods
The following article on " Spiritual Warfare in the Third Wave movement by Debbie Hughes " may interests some of us..
AS I SIT HERE WITH A STACK of research material piled around, I recall the distinct smell of burnt rubber. Last night my car, parked in the driveway, went up in a burst of flames. I foolishly rushed out to save my research notes and library books from destruction. This, however, was an act of folly not heroism. After the firemen and policemen had gone on to other pressing business, I settled down to reflect upon the incident. Surely the protective hand of God was in the event, despite my impetuousness. Was this bonfire a demonstration of God's love and mercy such that the fire occurred in an unoccupied car rather than in the middle of the city's rush hour traffic where it had been moments before? Or perhaps a reminder of the brevity and uncertainty of life over which God alone is sovereign? Other more sinister answers could also be offered. Was this an inkling of oppressive tactics such as Satan used on Job (that I should be found as righteous as he!) firstly by removing material possessions? Or perhaps some unnamed demon sought occasion by which to "gain ground," to ride in on the back of the traumatic and hurtful events of life? Do we explain the experiences of life in terms of our theology or do we determine our theology by the experiences in our life? Perhaps indeed, the event had no significance beyond the electrical flaws and mechanical malfunction of man's motorized apparatus.
The purpose of this essay is not to discuss the metaphysical queries of automobile fires. Rather my intention is to spend time looking at the dynamics of the relationship between God, Satan and humans in the sphere of spiritual warfare. This issue has been brought to the fore in a fresh way particularly via the "third wave" of the Pentecostal movement. In order to put the flow of tide in some context, we must look at both the third wave development from a cultural and historical perspective, as well as the trends in the understanding of spiritual warfare. Then we will evaluate the current issues of teaching and practice on the nature of spiritual warfare.
Interestingly enough, even before the Pentecostal movement began, there were ripples of influence occurring as far back as John Wesley's theology.(1) Wesley, and the holiness movement which built on his teaching, advocated the eager search for a second stage experience in the Christian life which would lead to eradication of sin and thus result in Christian perfection or perfect love. Then in England, Edward Irving launched the short-lived Catholic apostolic church which claimed the recurrence of all the apostolic gifts, including tongues. Later in the 19th century, several Anglo-American evangelicals experienced a very powerful second work. They understood this crisis not in terms of a plateau of perfection, but rather an empowerment for life and ministry. The second stage focus was no longer on holiness but rather power for service. In 1906, the first wave of the move of the Holy Spirit hit the shore. The Pentecostal movement, so named after the experience of Pentecost in Acts 2, began under the preaching of William Seymour on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California. The baptism with the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by speaking in tongues, was a second stage experience to be sought by all believers. Thus the trend shifted from sinless perfection to power evidenced by tongues. The development moved from the fruit of the Spirit to the gifts of the Spirit, initially evidenced by speaking in tongues and later by the addition of other gifts for service.
The second wave of the Spirit followed in the 1960s. The charismatic movement began in an Episcopal parish in California when Rector Dennis Bennett experienced the baptism in Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. This spread to other Protestant churches and later to Catholic universities. The important consideration here was that this crossed denominational boundaries, adding Pentecostal experience to both Protestant and Catholic churches. However the individuals did not become classic Pentecostals.
The third wave began in the 1980s when John Wimber associated himself with the Vineyard movement, emphasizing power evangelism and power healing. Tongues are not prominent in this swell. They are one of the diverse gifts of the Spirit. Second stage theology is not part of this move. Rather the concept has shifted towards anointing, which is a less polemic term than 'baptism in the Holy Spirit.' Anointing is a process theology rather than a stage theory. As anointing increases, the power for service grows as well. "More, Lord" has become the rally cry. Anointing also carries the connotation that the spiritual gifts are given for specific purposes at certain times to various individuals. They are not the permanent possession of each Christian. This allows for more fluidity in the equipping of the saints and implementation of the gifts for the purpose of ministry. The gift of prophecy plays a significant role, but the emphasis on the office of prophet has declined following a brief but painful liason with the Kansas City Prophets in the early 1990s. Prayer and touch (laying on of hands for the bestowal and transference of gift and power) are prominent features of third wave practice. A strong sense of worship is a powerful attribute, somtimes creating an exuberant atmosphere and at other times an awe and reverance. An unspoken post-millennial flavour is implied as Joel's army (a reference to the passage in Joel 2 of signs and wonders, visions and prophecy) is raised and equipped to usher in God's kingdom in a great revival before the second coming of Christ.
One prominent backdrop to the swells of all three waves was socio-cultural tensions. Harvey Cox describes the early 20th century urbanization as a great dislocation of peoples which fostered "a double-barreled disillusionment, both with the traditional religions and its institutional expressions and with the pseudoreligions of technical advancement and rational enlightenment. Consequently, large numbers of these newly urbanized masses settled neither for secularization nor for the "old time religion," but struck out toward a third option."(2) Pentecostalism. One cannot help but think as well of the social upheaval of the 1960s when the charismatic movement was born. Vietnam. Kent State. Women's liberation. Values clarification. And what of the 1980's? The Wall Street Crash. Computerization. The environmental movement. Downsizing. Disgust with the progress of modernism. It appears that there is not much need for change in religious structures when a period of social calm prevails. However, when unrest becomes the rule, people look for spiritual answers to deal with the contemporary crises. Sometimes, the traditional institutions and practices seem unable to respond to the demands of the current reality and the problems and needs they generate.
An overview of the development of the present understanding of spiritual warfare also needs to be highlighted. From the days of the Reformers and later the Puritans, literature has been published concerning the Christian's war against the kingdom of darkness(3). The approach of waging war was seen in the larger context of evangelism, leading to freedom from spiritual blindness, and discipleship for growth thereby, seeing that indeed, as believers, they had tasted the graciousness of the Lord. The tools employed to stand against the wiles of the devil were the articles of the armour of God - truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, individual and communal prayer, perserverance and holy boldness in the face of adversity.(4) These are defined as the classic tools of spiritual warfare, allowing the Christian to stand firm and resist the wiles of the devil. In more recent times, the understanding and emphasis of spiritual warfare has begun to shift. Moral choice, as reflected for example in the Pilgrim's Progress, is no longer the root issue. Rather it has become a symptom of the underlying diagnosis of demonization. As this shift occurred, demonization was initially linked with sickness and suffering. Later it broadened to include the problem of sin. In the 1950s, William Branham came to the fore in Pentecostal healing revivals. Accompanied by the presence of an angel, he cast out oppressing spirits of disease. Don Basham, a spiritual protégé of the Branham connnection, continued to formalize this deliverance methodology in his charismatic circles. In 1972, his book, Deliver Us from Evil, became a best-seller. He emphasized the prevalence of witchcraft, the demonic infusion of inanimate objects, and the attempt of disembodied demonic spirits to gain access and control of individuals.(5) Being under the control of evil spirits was not seen as being 'possessed' in the same sense that one would associate with an unregenerate person. It was a matter of degree, for the Christian was indeed the temple of the Holy Spirit. Powlison uses the concept of a computer virus, overwriting and corrupting sectors of the hard disk. The goal then is to use a virus shield to remove the virus and keep it filtered out.(6)
Mainstream evangelicalism also began to take an interest in spiritual warfare. Several theologians from Dallas, Moody, Trinity and Talbot published books on the topic. Charles Hummel summarizes the contributions as "middle ground between those who want to solve every problem through spiritual warfare and those who reject spiritual warfare entirely."(7) In his assessment, these authors avoided to the two errors concerning which C.S. Lewis warned in his Screwtape Letters - that of disbelief in devils and the opposite extreme of belief with an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. The major premise in these writings was the correction of a faulty dualism in the separate realms of the physical and spiritual. As descendents of a Platonic heritage, we in the Western culture have been guilty of blindness of divine providence working in and through the material world. As well, Timothy Warner contended that Jesus' power over demons was actually part of his message together with being a validation of his person.(8) Hummel thus concludes that since "proclamation and demonstration go hand in hand," we, as Christians, are challenged to continue his ministry.(9)
This synthesizes nicely with Wimber's whole premise concerning power evangelism - that the deeds of the kingdom, done along with the preaching of the kingdom make for a more effective approach than 'programmatic evangelism' alone. Stan Fowler summarizes the power evangelism point of view by stating, "We should expect miracles as a regular part of our evangelism. All Christians can expect to be agents of miracles just as the apostles of Christ were. Such miracles/signs include physical healings, casting out demons, supernaturally given knowledge, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, etc."(10)
A further development was the concept of territorial spirits. C. Peter Wagner, a church growth historian at Fuller Theological Seminary, wrote Engaging the Enemy: How to Fight and Defeat Territorial Spirits. Since many of the leaders in the third wave movement have associations with Fuller's School of Missions, they concur with the stress on "signs and wonders, church growth and third-world missions. [Their understanding of spiritual warfare] is characterized by a comprehensive and systematic theological rationale that centers on the coming of the kingdom of God and a strong concern for multicultural evangelism. The notion of 'territorial spirits' - ruler demons that hold entire cities or regions in bondage to unbelief and sin - is a recent innovation within third-wave teaching."(11)
While Frank Peretti's novels, This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness, may be the 'third wave Bibles,' describing the ways in which spiritual warfare plays out in human life, the third wave handbooks include aspects of all of the streams mentioned above. Combined with this is their own special emphasis on the use of all the spiritual gifts in the empowering of the saints for ministry
The third wave, and indeed the broad base of Christianity, acknowledges the full scope of Ephesians 6:12 that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." There is a cosmic conflict in which humanity is involved. The third wave brings greater awareness to this important aspect of daily life than we have in recent times acknowledged. This is no nodding assent to the warfare, but an active engagement in it. They realize that there is no option as a conscientious objector. They also recognize that the spiritual battle is much more dynamic than the do's and don'ts preached from pulpits in modern times and used as spiritual measuring sticks. They have rejected the physical world/spiritual world dualism present in practice, if not in doctrine, in our lives. The third wave emphasizes evangelism and building up of the saints. The zeal that the members have for the kingdom of God is infectious. They desire to see evidences of God's mighty hand at work drawing all men to Himself. The Spirit and His gifts (particularly the charismata) have prominent place. Evangelism is the whole aim of the movement which the Spirit effects through the human agency of the saints. Edward Pousson notes, "When Jesus said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit,' it was in the context of a divine sending: 'As the Father has sent me, I am sending you' (John 20:21). Likewise, the promise of the Spirit in Acts 1:8 was linked to the mandate of worldwide witness."(12) The goal is to empower all to be effective in this role. Every Christian has been given a gift to be used to increase and strengthen the church of Christ. Clergy/laity distinction is lessened with the emphasis on the contribution of the whole body. Prayer is another strength of this movement. These people are serious intercessors. They believe in the power of prayer and the power of the God who answers it. The use of touch in prayer is a mighty adjunct. Perhaps in other cultures where the third wave has flowed, this would not be seen as particularly striking. However in the North American context where the movement was birthed, touch is an exceedingly scarce commodity. We have prided ourselves in our individualism while negating our intrinsic communal nature. Both Pentacostalism and the third wave arose in urban settings. Perhaps the sincere use of touch, as evidenced in Vineyard practice, has ameliorated isolation in a sea of humanity.
Most Christians would agree with the tenet that demon possession is a real condition. One only has to read the gospels to see evidence of this. Not even the most extreme cessationist would argue that demons were a blight only during the New Testament era! Most Christians would also acknowledge that demons can oppress both the saved and the unsaved alike. If it were not so, why the Scriptural injunctions to armour oneself and to resist the devil? The contention of David Powlison though is that "the New Testament never links demonization to moral evil in the person who has a demon....We have no evidence that demonization was either caused by sin and unbelief or that it had any bondage-creating influence to perpetuate sin or unbelief."(13) His thesis is diametrically opposed to the position taken by the third wave, but it nevertheless commands reflection regarding the nature of the deliverance ministry which Jesus and his apostles undertook.
Two of my concerns with this type of spiritual warfare are the misdiagnosis of the problem - demonizing sin - and the consequent application of a demon-centered deliverance as a solution. The third issue I would like to address is the inadvertent effect that this style of spiritual warfare has on its practitioners.
Allow me to explain my first concern. When human problem 'x' is thus understood in light of a 'spirit/demon of x,' thus necessitating a power encounter to free one from its bondage, then little responsibility rests on the human agent to deal with the sin itself. Rather the solution is seen in (usually ongoing) deliverance from the oppressing demon. Did the apostle Peter have a demon of hypocrisy when he refrained from eating with Gentiles in the presence of his Jewish fellows - or was he hypocritical? What was Paul's response - casting out or correcting? In John 8, did Jesus cast out the demon of adultery from the woman who was brought to him by the Pharisees, or did he tell her to go and sin no more? The Bible always associates sin with human responsibility. James 1:14-15 states, "Each one is tempted when, by his own his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." 'It is always our moral evil, our unbelief, pride, lusts, fears, and wickedness that need to be repented of. Moral bondage to the devil is simultaneously a slavery to the enthralling power of sin... The Bible does not portray moral evil - however heinous or devilish - as a demonization to be cast out. We minister to blind slaves with all the energies of prayer, love, and truth, fighting spiritual warfare in the classic mode [with the tools of Ephesians 6}."(14)
The second of my concerns deals with the emphasis on the signs and wonders. Here the focus is on the exercise of power, which is in and of itself a debatable mode of warfare. This is at the expense of the more arduous, yet surely effective, solution. We end up fighting the devil with his own tools - power with power. "Christian warfare, as perceived by the movement, is a series of crises, a sudden 'power encounter', an 'instantaneous deliverance', or an 'inner healing', rather than the result of disciplined and progressive training in the use of the Christian armour...If we keep emphasizing external manifestation of God's power, we may fail to develop the invisible weapons we need to overcome evil in all its subtleties."(15) We must put on the armour of God. Many of the habitual sins with which we contend, require continuity of the Spirit's work concurrent with Biblical teaching to transform our minds. We need this illumination as we examine our hearts, recognize sin, and repent of it. We need the support of our fellow pilgrims to exhort, encourage and hold us accountable to live our lives in a way that does not bring reproach on God. This is a process of growth. The third wave approach runs the risk of being less effective in bringing about this maturity for it treats the demon who oppresses rather than the sin that enslaves.
The third concern relates to the effect that the third wave understanding of spiritual warfare has on its proponents. These are possible outcomes - not givens. One potential response is disillusionment. Christians 'come against' the demon, 'breaking off' his power by praying in the Spirit, but shortly thereafter the cycle may well begin again. The demons are back. Release does not necessarily flow into peace. Sometimes the quest tracks as yet unidentified demonic sources. This search can become never-ending, with victory always just out of reach. The pursuit of introspection can distance one from healthy fellowship and impair ability to act in love and service. Since some deliverance-type ministries use a multi-faceted approach, spiritual problems are also addressed with the classic tools of Ephesians 6 in the context of the love of the Christian community.
The greater threat to emotional health, however, which can possibly result from this understanding of spiritual warfare is the potential for fearfulness in life. When demons are at all points seeking to gain squatter's rights in the human heart, the sense of suspiciousness is heightened. Furthermore, demons are not only on the outside oppressing us, but on the inside vexing us. Since demons can recapture ground through our own sin or the sin of others against us, childhood traumas, ancestral (generational) sin, one is never assured of a safe place in the world. Even with a demonic-free hearth, the potential exists for them to return home in seven-fold strength. The logical outworking of this type of demonology is psychologically detrimental. Is this really the quality of life that Christ bought for us with his death on the cross? Did he not at that time disarm the powers and authorities, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross?(16) Perhaps the 'deliverance ministries' create more anxiety over demons than confidence instilled in Christ.
In conclusion, I view the third wave movement as challenging the complacency of contemporary Christianity. They seek to address the new questions and problems arising out of a post-modern culture. However, I am concerned that the approach used in connection to spiritual warfare will not be a satisfying answer to the problem of turning men's minds from darkness to light. May God bless the third wave and continue to use to use it in all its strengths and weaknesses as He does with all of us who hold His treasure in vessels of clay.