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WAR ON THE SAINTS

In Matthew 16:23 Jesus says "...Get thee behind Me, Satan...". With this command, Jesus tells Satan that his place will be to follow after Jesus, not in font of Him or along side of Him. Considering the variety of different places that Jesus could have sent Satan, this scripture seemed puzzling to me when I first read it. However, after looking at a recurring pattern in Scripture, it then seemed to be clear. Jesus will be offered first to men and women in the Gospel. This Gospel of Grace was being preached by Paul and Silas in Philippi in Acts 16. In Acts 16:16-18 we see that Paul confronts a woman possessed with a spirit of divination and casts the demon out of her. After that it appeared that "all hell" broke loose. Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned. Refusing to give in to the circumstances around them, Paul and Silas begin to praise God from prison at midnight. An earthquake sets the captives free. The jailer, on the verge of suicide for failing at his post, hears the Word of God and is saved along with his household. The revival in Philippi continues until Paul is escorted out of the city and only after the birthing of the Church of the Philippians takes place. This same pattern can be discerned in Ephesus when Paul was teaching there ACTS 19:12-20.

In each case, Jesus is preached first, then the Kingdom of light confronts the Kingdom of darkness. Warfare occurs, and the Word of God prevails.


In every great revival since those days we can discern a similar pattern. I personally saw this in the Charismatic Renewal in the '70's. People were giving their hearts and lives to Jesus through a powerful move of God's Holy Spirit. Satan came following after with false teachings that caused disruption and distress in the Body of Christ. This caused some people to wonder about the true origin of the Charismatic Renewal. It causes me no such concern. I know this:
I was lost, and then I was found by Jesus Himself in a mighty move of the Holy Spirit in my life.


In a book on spiritual warfare, War on the Saints by Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, I also saw this scriptural pattern of Jesus being preached first in power in Wales during the great Welsh Visitation early in this century. This book was written under the auspices of the evangelist that God used during that mighty revival, Evan Roberts. His observations and discernment was used in authoring this book on how Satan can counterfeit many of the mighty works of God. This should not come as a surprise to Bible-believing Christians for it is written:


2Timothy 3:8 "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith."


If these ministers of Satan could use supernatural signs to attempt to resist Moses, through whom Almighty God was working awesome miracles, what would lead any of us to believe that the enemy doesn't use the same tactics today? Was it in vain that we are all warned:


2 Corinthians 11:13-15 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."


I am presenting for your edification the complete work of Mrs. Penn-Lewis and Evan Roberts in War on the Saints. This work was wrongly "abridged" or "redacted" by well-intentioned Christians who, in so doing, rip out the very heart and content of the message. I share their belief that a born-again believer in Jesus Christ cannot be possessed by demons or the devil himself. We are bought with the Blood of Jesus Christ and are owned by Him. Demons, however, can use inroads provided to them by Christians to upset that Christian's life, cause sickness and distress, and even use such a one for teaching falsehood in the Body of Christ. It is an unfortunate choice of terms that Mrs. Penn-Lewis uses. Christians cannot be possessed by demons but can be troubled by them. Most of the time in the New Testament the word that is translated as "possessed" is the Greek (Strong's 1139)"daimonizomai" meaning "to be demonized".

  • Scriptures using this term: Matt 4:24, 8:16, 8:33, Mark 1:32, 5:15, Luke 8:36.
  • Scripture using another Greek word "echo" (Strong's 2192) meaning "to hold, to have" is used in Acts 8:7 and Acts 16:16

    In some of these cases, as with the Gadarene demoniac, I have no question that Satan controlled his life until he was set free by Jesus. It is also true that none of the instances recorded above relate to a born-again Christian.


    Again, was it in vain that the Holy Spirit warns Christians through the Apostle Peter:


    1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"


    I believe we can learn a great deal from the original unabridged work, War on the Saints. For that reason I am making this available to Christians since we are charged to be "wise as serpents and gentle as doves" (Matthew 10:16).


    War on the Saints by Jessie Penn-Lewis


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    JESUS-IS-LORD Ministries of Monroe
    March 1, 2000