spiritual warfare

The Lord’s Prayer | How Did Jesus Pray? Line-By-Line Meaning Explained

The Lord’s Prayer, Line 1 | “Father, Yahovah, Hallowed Be Your Name”

Father

If you are a believer in Jesus, then Yahovah (YHWH) became your Father when you repented of sin and believed in Jesus. Following your sincere repentance and faith, YHWH miraculously birthed new spiritual life in your heart and you literally became His child, a new creation, a different person.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah is begotten of God.
1 John 5:1

Begotten of God

What does ‘begotten of God’ mean?

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
(2 Corinthians 5:17)

We don’t use the words beget, begat, or begotten very much today. As you can see below, the Greek word translated ‘begotten’ literally means to procreate a descendant and produce an offspring.

So, YHWH literally becomes every true Christian’s Father. We become members of His personal family; we share His spiritual DNA. Therefore, when we pray to the Father we’re confessing two things:

He is my Father and I am His child; I have His DNA in the new spirit He quickened within me.
- I’m no longer a mere man (1 Cor 3:3).
- Christians are a different species from unregenerate people; they’re members of a new creation (2 Cor 5:17, Gal 6:15).
My sibling believers are those who also have God’s spiritual DNA; those who’ve had their spirits quickened within them. Therefore, God is ‘our Father.’

In Heaven

Our Father is in heaven. What does this mean? Is God’s abode a physical place, far beyond the constellations? Or is it in another dimension that exists invisibly alongside the physical space-time dimension we live in? A good argument can be made for both of these views.

But years ago, God revealed this to me—God isn’t far away (across the universe) in heaven. Just the opposite! He is closer to us than we are to ourselves. He is closer to you than the breath in your lungs.

God is constructing an eternal temple, built with ‘living stones.’ This spiritual temple is God’s dwelling place forever.

As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-5

So, when I pray to the Father I don’t add the words ‘in heaven,’ which makes it seem like He is somewhere far away. He is not far away. Instead, I’m prompted to intentionally quiet my natural thoughts and focus my attention toward the Holy Spirit of God who dwells in my spirit, my innermost heart.

Yahovah

Scripture tells God’s people to call on His name, extol His name, make His name known, etc. It’s respectful and worshipful to address YHWH by His name, so when I pray I begin by personally addressing Him, saying “Father, Yahovah.”

The next line of the Lord’s Prayer is “hallowed be Thy name.” How can I pray this if I haven’t said His name?

The Father’s Name

What is the Father’s name? There are two reasons why most people don’t know it.

Unfortunately, for thousands of years God’s people avoided saying the name of God, supposedly out of respect. Because of this, Bible translators even changed ‘YHWH’ to ‘LORD’ in most English Bible translations.
In addition, Satan’s world system actively pressures people not to acknowledge the true God, or to pronounce God’s name.

Call Upon His Name

But YHWH tells us to call on His name, extol His name, make His name known, etc. For a few examples, see: Joel 2:32, 1 Chronicles 16:8, Isaiah 12:4, Psalm 105:1, Romans 10:13, and Acts 2:21.

But Don’t Speak the Names of False gods

In contrast, YHWH explicitly commands us not to speak the names of false gods…

You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
(Exodus 23:13)

God commands us not to say the names of false gods because that would legitimize them. But over the centuries Satan has deceived God’s people by preventing them from speaking God’s name, even though YHWH encourages us to call on His name.

Pronunciation

Many people avoid pronouncing God’s name for fear of mispronouncing it, but if your heart is sincere and reverent it’s not important to pronounce God’s exactly correctly. God looks at your heart; He is not judging your pronunciation.

That said, based on compelling evidence from Jewish Hebrew scholar Nehemiah Gordon I believe the most-likely pronunciation for YHWH is “Yahovah.” Here are URLs to three videos for anyone who’d like to investigate this further, or to hear how a Hebrew scholar pronounces Yahovah.

Yahweh vs. YHVH: The Name of God – Q&A with Michael Rood & Nehemia Gordon

The Origins of Yahweh

God’s name is not Yahweh – Proof from Jewish Rabbis

Hallowed Be Your Name

To ‘hallow’ something means to treat it as holy and pure, separate from common things.

After I address YHWH saying, “Father, Yahovah,” I pray “Hallowed be Your name” to reinforce my recognition that I am entering the presence of Almighty God, the creator and sustainer of all things, and the holy Judge over every creature eternally.

In 1973 the Holy Spirit gave me a glimpse of God’s love. I experienced God’s love as so deep and powerful that I felt like I was drowning in an ocean of love. It was overwhelming. I had to ask the Spirit to reduce the experience because I felt like I the glory was too much for my flesh and it would have killed me. In the Spirit I ‘saw’ the Son in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18), surrounded by the Father’s infinite love, and I realized that that’s where I was too, since my life is now ‘in Christ.’ I flashback to this experience when I pray “hallowed be Thy name.” He is infinitely holy and pure and loving. I’ve experienced that even a glimpse of His glory is too much for us fleshly creatures.

The Lord’s Prayer, Line 2 | Your Kingdom Come; Your Will Be Done. As In Heaven, So On The Earth

The Lord’s Prayer is first and foremost a kingdom prayer. In this part of the Lord’s Prayer, we’re first praying for YHWH to perfect His kingdom in heaven by throwing the Devil and his angels out, and then to extend the Messiah’s authority over all the earth, until all of heaven and every nation on earth submits to God’s throne and willingly aligns with His will.

When we pray ‘Your kingdom come Your will be done, as in heaven so on the earth” we’re engaging in spiritual warfare. We’re using our Adamic authority to exercise dominion over the earth. The goal is for all the earth to conform to God’s will, in peace, righteousness, and prosperity.

For more information about this spiritual warfare, read Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven and Spiritual Warfare for God’s End-Time Overcomers.

From the Book of Revelation we know that we won’t see God’s kingdom come onto the earth until after Armageddon. Then, Jesus will oversee YHWH’s kingdom on the earth for 1000 years. Here’s my Prediction of Life in the Next Millennium.

The Lord’s Prayer, Line 3 | Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

Sometimes we forget that Jesus didn’t emerge from His mother’s womb as a fully-developed and mature man. Just like us, He grew from infancy, to childhood, adolescence, and finally manhood.

About this developing and maturing process the Bible says,

Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Luke 2:52

Our Daily Bread is Living Bread

The Bible is the logos, the written word of God. It is static and permanent, a constant reference for anyone to read.

In contrast, the rhema is God’s spoken word. It is the voice of the living God speaking to us today, to teach us, direct us, or command us about a specific topic in our life right now.

As He grew and matured Jesus learned the logos perfectly, and He also demonstrated His total dependence on YHWH’s rhema.

See and Hear God’s Rhema

In the Gospel of John (chapter 5) Jesus revealed that He both saw and heard YHWH’s rhema in His daily life. Without this rhema, Jesus said He could do nothing.

Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
John 5:19-21

I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 5:30

If Jesus could do nothing without the rhema direction from His Father, how much more do we need to seek the Father’s rhema in everything we do.

God wants us to ask for and depend on Him to provide whatever physical, mental, and spiritual ‘bread’ we need to accomplish His will through our lives today.

The Bread of Life

Physical and mental bread are important, but spiritual bread gives us eternal life. The rhema of YHWH is this daily bread.

Bread of Empowerment

Our daily bread is not only to keep us alive and well, but it’s our empowerment to complete our mission of advancing God’s kingdom.

Just as we depend on God for life itself, He depends on us to bear His fruit on the earth.

For more information about ‘our daily bread’ read Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread and Christian Passover.

The Lord’s Prayer, Line 4 | Forgive Us Our Debts As We Forgive All Our Debtors

True Christianity requires a supernatural transformation of our human spirit. Otherwise, it’s impossible for us to forgive our debtors as much as God requires us to.

The Lord’s Prayer (and many other Bible verses) teach that if you don’t forgive everyone of everything, then God won’t forgive you.

According to Why “Forgive Us Our Debts As We Forgive Our Debtors?” there are three reasons why our ability to forgive is so important to God:

Our ability to forgive others is evidence to God of our true repentance
Our ability to forgive others is evidence to mankind of a transformed life with supernatural quality
Our ability to forgive others is evidence to celestial principalities and powers of God’s victory through Christ in us.

The Lord’s Prayer, Line 5 | Bring Us Not Into Trials, But Rescue Us From An Evil Heart of Unbelief

If you’re like me you’ve prayed ‘Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil’ for a long time without understanding what Jesus meant in this part of the Lord’s Prayer. For example, the traditional words ‘Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil’ often brought these questions into my mind:

It always sounded to me like I needed to ask God not to lead me into circumstances where He knows I’d be weak and tempted to sin.
- But, as a loving heavenly Father, wouldn’t it be against His nature to lead me into sinful temptation?
What evil was I asking God to deliver me from?
Some translations (NASB, KJV, YLT) say, ‘deliver us from evil’ and other translations (NIV, NLT, BSB) say, ‘deliver us from the evil one.’ What is the correct translation of this phrase?

After detailed study of this verse I believe Jesus’ original teaching conveyed this meaning: “Bring us not into trials, but rescue us from an evil heart of unbelief.” The reasons for this wording, as well as the answers to the questions above, are all explained in detail in Lead Us Not Into Temptation But Deliver Us From Evil.

Amen

Finally, when we say “amen” in the Lord’s Prayer it’s in the same context as the ancient Hebrews, who meant two things by the word ‘amen:’

Whatever has been said is true and in alignment with God’s will.
God made man the ruler over all the earth in Genesis 1:28. Therefore, just as God spoke the heavens and the earth into existence, may God manifest my words into reality. Let them be done on the earth.

“Amen,” replied Benaiah son of Jehoiada. “May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it.
(1 Kings 1:36)

In Conclusion

The Lord’s Prayer is a kingdom prayer. Now that you understand how Jesus taught His disciples to pray–with the goal of advancing God’s kingdom on the earth–you can pray the Lord’s Prayer as (I believe) it’s meant to be prayed.

What Do You Think?

Did this article answer all your questions on this topic? Please leave a comment below and tell me:

Were you satisfied by the information in this article?
Or, did it leave you wanting more?

Fear of the Future | How to Overcome It

Reasons to Fear

Most would agree that 21st-century civilization seems to be unraveling.

Just within the last decade, powerful globalist forces intentionally destabilized many nations through warfare (i.e., Ukraine, Egypt, Libya, and Syria) and others are now being radically transformed through a Muslim immigration invasion (i.e., France, Germany, Sweden, and Great Britain.)
When I just typed “economic collapse mathematical certainty” into the YouTube search window, there were 1,630 videos on the topic. The USA is $20 trillion dollars in debt, with many ‘experts’ expecting a cataclysmic, worldwide economic depression to hit in 2017/2018.
We all enjoy the amazing food distribution system that brings us year-round fresh meat, seafood, vegetables, and fruit from countries around the world. But Western nations have now become totally dependent on this system. As a result, very few people have gardens or store emergency food, so millions are unprepared and they’ll die if any long-term disaster (i.e., economic downturn, world war, electric grid down, Yellowstone eruption, etc.) disrupts the restocking of our grocery store shelves every 3 days.

Twenty-first-century life is becoming more and more chaotic and dangerous, and there’s nothing visible on the horizon that provides an expectation that our future will be any better than today.

Overcoming Your Fear of the Future: what are you afraid of?

Fear of Personal Death

Death. While we don’t like to think about it or discuss it, please take a moment to acknowledge the reality that your body is eventually going to die. Whether you’re unexpectedly killed in a car accident tomorrow, or peacefully and painlessly go to sleep for the last time when you’re 110 years old, the terminal result is the same. Our days are numbered and (unless a miracle happens) we’re all going to die.

Accepting your individual mortality usually doesn’t cause us concern, as long as you believe your death isn’t imminent.

Fear of Society’s Death

In contrast, however, the fears of global depression, famines, World War III, and the Antichrist stamping everyone with 666 can fill us with dread, even if these events never actually happen within our lifetime.

Here are some possible reasons why we fear society’s demise more than our own death:

The nightly news makes it seem like catastrophic events could be imminent, making us feel like society’s time is running out.
We have no control over world events, so we feel helpless.
We’re afraid for the welfare of our loved ones.
This is the world system of government, economy, and religion that we know. We can’t imagine how things will be different in the next world system that replaces it.

Fear of the ‘End of the World’

When we feel like world events could be fulfilling prophecies in the Book of Revelation, it’s natural to fear TEOTWAWKI–the end of the world as we know it. The imminent fear of society’s end often creates an emotional burden of anxiety, dread, and stress.

Today, even small children sense the trouble in our world. Recently, a young mother in Virginia wrote this:

“I feel like I am so behind on my spiritual journey. How is it that I have gotten to this point in my life and am just now starting to scratch the surface on all there is to know and understand. The part of Revelation that always makes me uneasy is not knowing and not understanding God’s timing. The world always looks like it is falling apart when you watch the news. But when I turn off the TV and look at the world directly in front of me it all seems so beautiful still.

My suggestion for a topic I’d like to know more about is, “what now?” What can I do for my family and for my soul to prepare us for eternity and for the time when Jesus returns. My 4-year-old daughter asked me just last week what it would be like when Jesus came back – I had to tell her that I wasn’t sure, but I envisioned it like seeing your best friend that you’ve missed for a very long time. She cried and said that it scared her still… I told her honestly that it made me feel the same way! But that we’ll have to be brave. (Bravery is something she and I already talk about a lot, so it felt like a comforting thought to us).”

Overcoming Your Fear of the Future: the remedy for fear

In 1974, while I was sitting alone in prayer on my bed, I had a supernatural visitation from the Holy Spirit in which God revealed His love to me. It was like trying to drink an ocean of pure love. The experience was so physically overpowering that I couldn’t stand it. As awesomely pleasant as it was, I had to ask God to lessen it or I believe I would have physically died.

Since then, whenever I’m tempted to doubt God’s existence, or whether He is concerned with a situation, I remind myself of that experience and the revelation of God’s love is a solid anchor to my faith.

God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him. In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:16-19)

Ask God to give you a revelation of His love. It will drive out your fears.

How Can a Loving God…?

In response to the statement “God is love” people will sincerely ask, “But how can a loving God tolerate all the suffering in the world,” or something similar.

For a detailed answer, including the purpose and plan of God through the eons of creation, please read my free eBook The Overcomers’ Treasure Map.

Overcoming Your Fear of the Future: how to prepare for the end time

So, how can we prepare for the end time, and be brave as we face it?

Whether we’re actually in the apocalyptic end time or not, troubles are certainly coming in our future. The important thing is that our fears are real, and justified. How can we prepare ourselves, physically and spiritually?

Physical Preparation

Possessing emergency plans, supplies, and skills help defeat fear. This kind of preparation can help you survive many natural or man-made disasters.

For example, everyone would be wise to store some dried rice and beans, plant a small vegetable garden, and have a water filter to purify drinking water.

Here are a few general resources to guide your physical preparations:

US Government resource

Survival blog 1

Survival blog 2

Bravery

General George Patton said this about bravery,

“If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.”

John Wayne said,

“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”

Corey Ten Boom was a young Christian girl in Holland in World War II. Her family believed it was their Christian duty to hide Jews in their attic. Decades later, after the entire family had suffered for this act in a Nazi concentration camp, she shared this story about her fear.

One day, at the train station, I voiced my concern to my father about whether I would be brave enough to suffer for Jesus if the Germans arrested us.

My father asked me, “When you go on a train journey, when do you get your ticket?” I answered, “Papa, you always hold onto my ticket until just before I go onto the train. Then you give it to me.” He said, “Yes, and God will give you the courage you need when you need it.”

So, bravery isn’t the absence of fear. Rather, it’s doing your duty in spite of your fear, and God will give you the strength when you need it.

Spiritual Preparation

What is your duty? Your main duty in this life, living under the dominion of the current, anti-God world system, is simply to follow God wholeheartedly and trust Him with the safe-keeping of your soul.

We follow God by walking in the ‘Way of the Lord,’ following truth, goodness, and holiness.

Follow truth by aligning yourself with reality. Reality is revealed in nature, the Bible, and the Spirit of God.
Follow goodness by applying the golden rule toward everyone, even your enemies. Jesus told us to overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)
The Spirit of God in each born-again believer is holy, and each disciple’s spirit is being uniquely transformed into holiness, daily, by the renewing of his mind. (Romans 12:2)

Like Jesus, we may suffer for doing God’s will in this world, but if we’re faithful to Him in this life we’ll share God’s glory in His eternal kingdom.
- See my spiritual warfare page for the rationale behind this statement.
Trust that God loves you infinitely, and nothing can separate us from God’s love. No one can snatch us out of His hand. (John 10:28)

A pregnant woman may wonder how she’ll bear the coming painful ordeal of birthing her child, but when the time comes and her contractions begin she naturally does what she has to do in spite of the pain. There is no ‘opting out’ of the experience. Then, as soon as her child is born, she forgets the pain because of the joy she feels. It will be the same for born-again Christians in the end time.

We can be brave and overcome our fears by (1) trusting in God’s love, and (2) having an eternal perspective.

Overcoming Your Fear of the Future: Decide now which group you will be judged with

Everyone will eventually die and face God’s judgment; but in the resurrections to come, the decisions you make in this life will determine which of the following three groups you’ll be judged with:

1. Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ

Definition: A disciple is an active follower of the living, resurrected Messiah. Disciples are 100% committed to eradicating sin from their lives and being transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2). They’re students of God’s word, and growing daily through prayer and spiritual relationship to God.

Today, disciples have nothing to fear from death. Their bodies will be resurrected in the first resurrection. They’ll rule and reign with Christ for 1000 years before the general resurrection. They’ll inherit an eternal reward of life and glory in God’s presence.

During the coming ‘great tribulation’ living disciples of the Messiah will be ‘sealed’ by God and glorified as God’s manifested sons and daughters. To silence their godly testimony, Satan and the Antichrist may persecute and kill them. As a result, they’ll earn the martyr’s crown, to be worn proudly for all eternity. They’ll also sing a new song on Mount Zion with the Lamb, a song that no one else will be able to sing. Finally, they’ll earn the 8 promises to the overcomers in the Book of Revelation.

2. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ

Definition: A believer has asked God to forgive his sins by faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, but he’s less than 100% committed to following God daily or eradicating sin from his life.

Believers who die (today, or in the great tribulation) will regret not following the Lord 100% as a disciple. Their bodies will be resurrected in the general resurrection (after the 1000-year millennium) along with unbelievers. Their faith will save them and they’ll receive rewards based on their godly works. For those without godly works, they’ll be saved ‘as through fire:’

If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as one being snatched from the fire. (1 Cor 3:12-15)

3. Unbelievers

The Devil would like you to believe that living your earthly life now is more important than the state of your eternal spirit, and as long as you’re a ‘good person’ believing in Jesus isn’t required.

The Devil is a liar. Everyone who follows him dies, and then their spirit will suffer burning torment in hell.
The truth is that the state of your immortal spirit is infinitely more important than your temporary, physical body. Everyone’s body will die in a few years, but your spirit never dies. God’s desire (for everyone) is for our spirits to become holy, like Jesus. We become holy by choosing to walk in ‘the way of the Lord’ during our earthly life.

Judgment

If you reject Jesus as your Savior, He will not be able to receive you into heaven when your dead body is resurrected in the general resurrection. You will stand naked before God, without the free gift of forgiveness which is available now through faith in Jesus. Almighty God will judge you, pronouncing your sentence based on your unbelief and the sin you preferred above salvation.

Someone will ask, “What about those unbelievers who never heard the gospel?” God is love, and He is also good and just. His judgment will be fair and applicable to each person. Nobody, not even Satan, will challenge the fairness of God’s decisions at the great white throne judgment. (Revelation 20:11-15)

Hell

You’ll then be cast into a place of burning torment to serve 100% of your long sentence. I believe the purpose of hell is redemptive, to burn away the sinfulness from each unbeliever’s evil spirit until you’re ready to repent and ask God for forgiveness. For some, this will take thousands of years; for others, less, depending on the hardness of your heart.

Based on Colossians 1:20 (and other verses) everyone will eventually receive God’s forgiveness and be released from this place of burning torment.

“and through Jesus to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:20)

Eventually, in the ages to come, God’s plan is for everyone who ever lived to dwell in His presence in heaven, after sincerely bowing their knee to Jesus Christ and confessing that He is the only Savior and Lord.

Therefore, if you’re an unbeliever you’d be wise to repent of your sins and dedicate your life to following Jesus today. Don’t wait another day—you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Overcoming Your Fear of the Future: Conclusion

We can’t avoid the birthing process of the coming new age, but you can be eternally blessed by deciding to follow God wholeheartedly and trusting Him with the safe-keeping of your soul.

God’s love drives out fear. You can be brave and overcome your fear of the future by (1) trusting in God’s love, and (2) having an eternal perspective.

In this short life, your most important decision is whether you’ll choose to be a disciple, a believer, or an unbeliever. Disciples are the only ones who have nothing to fear in their future.

The Heavenly Council – The Unseen Hands Controlling World Events

Heavenly Council’s Central Planning

Violent world events are not random. The heavenly council intentionally plans and executes them. For example, these events all accomplished their desired results:

9/11
Boston marathon bombing
The ongoing Muslim refugee invasion of Europe and other Western countries
The destruction of a Russian airliner over Sinai
The terrorist massacre of 150+ people in Paris

They engineered yesterday’s terrorist attacks in Paris to occur just before a G20 Leaders’ Summit that starts tomorrow in Turkey. The Paris terrorist attacks will now dominate the G20 Leaders’ agenda.

Conspiracy Theory?

But, for centralized planning to be true, the planners would have to have the intelligence, influence, and power to plan and implement such things on a global scale. Who can do that?

Even if I believed Bush and Cheney (or somebody else) were evil enough to engineer the 9/11 attack, that wouldn’t explain who’s planning and executing events now, long after their retirement.
I doubt whether presidents Obama, Putin, and Hollande are all evil enough to plan and execute recent terrorist attacks against their own people.
It would be stupid for ISIS or Al Qaeda to poke a stick in the bear’s eye by blowing up a Russian civilian airliner, or to kill dozens of innocent Frenchmen at random.

Rulers and Authorities in the Heavenly Council

So, who’s behind all these events? The Bible teaches:

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

These rulers and authorities (or ‘principalities and powers’ in the King James version) are the unseen brains and hands who control critical world events.

Since almost everyone is ignorant about the heavenly council (including most Christians) here are other Bible verses to verify the reality and continued existence of spiritual rulers and authorities:

Hebrew Bible references: These are the ‘sons of god’ or ‘gods,’ found in dozens of places, including: Gen 6:2,4; Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7; Dt 32:8-9, 43, and Psalm 82.
New Testament references: Besides Ephesians 6:12, others include Eph 6:12, Col 1:16, 2:15, Rom 8:38, Eph 1:21, 3:10, Tit 3:1, 1 Cor 15:24.

A 3-Tiered Heavenly Council

There is solid evidence in the Hebrew Bible for a 3-tiered heavenly council. Yahweh is the Supreme authority over a divine bureaucracy that includes a second tier called the ‘sons of God’ (beneh elim). These sons of God are never referred to as angels (mal’akhim) in the Hebrew Bible. That term denotes the third tier.[1]

The ‘spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ are fallen spiritual beings with delegated authority over God’s creation. They began ruling the earth in an eon before Adam (2 Peter 3:5-6) and they will continue to rule until Michael the Archangel casts them down to earth. This will occur after the overcomers defeat them “by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and they love not their souls unto death.” (Rev 12:7-11)

What is their goal?

To vindicate themselves, the fallen rulers and authorities need to prove that it’s impossible to live in righteousness and peace in the physical world. This is why they promote sin and violence among mankind.

But the resurrected Jesus Christ makes it possible for anyone to live in righteousness and peace, if a person will simply turn away from sin and follow His life-giving Spirit daily.

To achieve their goal, the fallen rulers and authorities will do everything possible to tempt Christ’s disciples into sin. And, if that fails, to eradicate them from the earth.

But, the Book of Revelation tells us that God’s overcomers will be victorious over the fallen rulers; their testimony of righteousness and peace will result in judgment against the rulers and authorities. The archangel Michael will cast them down from heaven to earth, to die like men.

I explain these concepts in detail in my free book The Overcomers Role in the Apocalypse available on this website.

How do they control human world events?

Most people think heaven is full of clouds and angels, loved ones playing harps, etc. But the truth is that the heavenly realm is in conflict right now. There is conflict between celestial beings who follow God (i.e., Michael and Gabriel) and those who obstinately continue in rebellion (i.e., Baal and Molech). Yet they’re all still members of the heavenly council, or council of heaven, who present themselves before the Lord, as in the Book of Job, chapter one.

Decrees of the council of heaven

The decrees of the council of heaven are the decrees of God. The Israelite conception of the divine council included deliberation and opposition, yet the will of God was ultimately done. For example, 1 Kings 22:19-23 tells us how the heavenly council works.

King Ahab’s death

God had decided that Ahab should die in battle by going up to Ramoth-Gilead. The heavenly council considered various ways to entice him to go there. They considered many ideas before one of council suggests becoming a lying spirit in the mouths of all Ahab’s prophets. God approved this plan and said it will succeed.

From this example we learn some facts that some may have trouble swallowing:

God declared His objective in a matter and then allowed the heavenly council to determine how to accomplish it.
God approved one of their ideas, which the sons of God then implemented, resulting in humans making choices that fulfilled God’s will.
The plan involved lying. God didn’t suggest the idea, or predestine it, but He did allow it. And then a fallen son of God implemented it through affecting the choices of prophets and the king who listened to them.

The heavenly council’s activities today

Today the heavenly council is still devising and implementing schemes to cause men to do the heavenly council’s will. Terrorist acts, false flag and black swan events, etc., are all engineered to achieve their goal of implementing an anti-God world government and religion. They’re guiding the minds and actions of humans through pride, greed, ignorance, fanaticism, and lust for power. And God is allowing it.
Why does God allow such terrible things? All of this is in accordance with God’s ‘eternal’ plan and purpose… to make known to these rulers and authorities in heaven the wisdom of God through the Body of Christ. (Ephesians 3:10). How?
- Just as Satan challenged God to test Job, the heavenly council challenges God to test the Church. The anti-Christ government will overcome the saints (Daniel 7:21), but the Overcomers will prevail.
- Just as God permitted Job’s testing, for the last 2000 years He permits the heavenly council to test the Church. This is to prove whether the Church will stand in faith, or follow the world into suicidal destruction.

A Great Shaking is Coming

Many faithful disciples are foretelling the great shaking that’s coming.

God said, “Once more, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. The words ‘once more’ indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.” Heb 12:26-29
A great falling away is now occurring in the visible Church as the masses follow the broad, seeker-friendly way to destruction. But a spiritual awakening is beginning in the true Church among those who won’t settle for less than the narrow, hard way of truth that leads to life.
- From AD 33 until 1900 there were 14,000,000 Christian martyrs. But since 1900 there have been 26,000,000 martyrs[2]. The books of Daniel and Revelation tell us this trend will only increase as the rulers and authorities wage all-out war against the saints.
- God is allowing this because the events of the end time will bring His disciples into maturity… unto the fullness of the stature of Christ.
- End time events also provide the stage for the testimony of faithful witnesses in the Court of Heaven. The testimony of the martyrs will defeat the fallen ruler and authorities in the Heavenly Court. This will vindicate God’s wisdom and His faith in them. They’ll prevail “by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and because they won’t love their souls unto death.”

The Sons of God

In the past, the rulers and authorities were called the sons of God.

But now, and in the future, those who are faithful to God are the true sons of God. They will rule and reign with Christ in God’s kingdom on earth during the coming Millennium, and afterward throughout the entire universe.

[1] The Divine Council page 4

[2] John Mark Ministries