As we have been working our way through the series on the New Apostolic Reformation, the topic of Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare has come up several times. What is Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare?

Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare (SLSW) is a host of various tactics used by the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) to win areas and peoples to the Lord all the while taking dominion. If you want to learn more about Dominionism click here. It is believed that demons rule different areas or territories. These demons are believed to hinder Gods ability to act in these territories. Another way that God is supposedly hindered is if an area has specific corporate sins that need to be repented of. Methods used by the Nar to remove these hindrances are referred to as Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare. The following are some of the ways that the NAR/Word of Faith movements conduct Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare.

Binding territorial demons is one of the most popular SLSW strategies. This is believed to be achieved in several different ways. Often times an apostle or prophet will claim that god has revealed a particular demon over an area that must be bound. This apostle or prophet will often give this demon a name or characterize it as a demon of (name the sin). He or she will then elaborate on Gods battle plan for binding the demon. These battle plans can include fasting, praying, massive prayer vigils, prayer walking, warfare prayer, pouring anointing oil in specific spots, blowing shofars and proclaiming the demons be bound in Jesus name.

In 2011 Cindy Jacobs and John Benefiel claimed that God had revealed that DC was being controlled by a demon named Columbia, so they organized NAR believers across America to remove Columbias influence. This move was known as DC40. Prayer and fasting was directed towards the removal of this perceived demonic threat. To the NARs defense, I will add that there are pagans who believe a goddess named Columbia rules in America. Whatever the case, their efforts proved to be fruitless. Nothing improved. Our nation is continuing to go downhill morally.

Some questions for NAR adherents: Are we as believers supposed to be engaged in these types of activities? Is Christ glorified when we participate in these endeavors? Does this have anything to do with the great commission? Does Gods word command us to bind territorial demons for the purposes of taking dominion?

I personally have taken part in activities like this in the past, when I was part of the hyper-charismatic/Word of Faith crowd. I always felt like we were doing battle against imaginary monsters. A prophet would claim that there was a demon of such and such that we must engage. We would then come up with a plan from the Lord to take this demon down. Once we followed the formula that God had supposedly given us, we would see no real change. Things would continue on as they were. After all the embarrassing goofy things we did to fight the demon nothing changed! We did exactly what the prophet had said. If God had really ordered this whole escapade, dont you think we would see real results? The God we see in the Bible doesnt make mistakes and He doesnt mess around. When God told prophets to perform certain often strange prophetic acts, such as marching around Jericho and blowing shofars, real results would follow. No one doubted whether the wall fell or not. When Gods people followed what God had told them to do, amazing tangible miracles would take place. When these false prophets claim God told them to take action in a specific way, and the people follow the specific orders, nothing happens. Its a farce. The people have been duped yet again.

C. Peter Wagner, the most authoritative voice amongst the New Apostolic Reformation movement recognized this problem.

Since 1990, as I have explained, city transformation has been high on our priority lists. That, as I write this, was 15 years ago. Our best top-level Christian leadership has been involved with this in city after city across America. God has been providing incredible new tools for getting the job donetools such as identificational repentance; spiritual mapping; strategic prophetic prayer; massive all-night, stadium prayer events; strategic-level spiritual warfare; prayer journeys; pastoral unity; and the concept of the church of the city. In addition, Bill Bright, Elmer Towns and others made fasting popular, and I would guess that somewhere around half of American evangelical pastors have now experienced 40-day fasts. However, we cannot point to a single city in America that has been transformed in all of those 15 years! C. Peter Wagner

C. Peter Wagner said this in 2005. We still dont see any miraculous changes coming from this nonsense! Why arent the abortion clinics in these towns shutting down? Why arent the strip clubs closing? Why dont we see some real results? If God was orchestrating these battles, wouldnt you expect some real obvious tangible shocking results? Quite simply, God is not in this stuff. He is not speaking to these false prophets and apostles. Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare as presented by the New Apostolic Reformation is joke. Friends, its time to repent and leave these false prophets. Lets turn our hearts back to the Lord.

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spiritual warfare - Youth Apologetics Training