Demon Strongholds, Christian Fortresses
EPHESIANS 6:12
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the
flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but
mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ;
One area of
spiritual warfare in which little information seems to be known is in the area
of demon strongholds. What I mean by this, is physical areas where demons are
allowed to dwell such as a temple, a building, a special tract of ground, etc.
Unfortunately
many Christians are unaware of this, and get themselves into trouble without
even realizing what they have done. For example, I have read where well-meaning
but uninformed Christians will enter pagan shrines and temples and pray for the
removal of the temple, or will try to cast out the demons attached to these
places.
Usually within a
short period of time, these Christians come under intense attack, and suffer
greatly. They petition God for relief, and many times don't seem to receive it,
and they cannot understand why this is happening to them. There are several
reasons for this, which it would be wise for all Christians to understand.
All pagan
religions and some parallel Christian religions are demon created, therefore
churches, temples and the like are created for them and they have the legal
right before God to dwell there.
The structures and property they exist on are dedicated to
Satan through that religion; therefore Satan has legal ownership of them. Even
Jesus didn't dispute Satan's claim to own the entire Earth during the time that
He tempted Jesus. Jesus knew it to be true. Scripture records;
LUKE 4:1-5
1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days
he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, if thou be the Son of God,
command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, it is written, that man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain,
shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give
thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I
will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me,
Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve.
Note also, that Jesus didn't fight with Satan concerning
the mastery of the world. He had not received commandment from His Father to do
so. And being obedient in all things, He waited for power and commandment from
His Father to do so, which was given to Him after his atoning death on the
cross.
You cannot just enter
their temples or churches with impunity.
If you do, you will indeed find the fight you are looking
for, but you will lose. Why? Because you didn't go in at God's command. You
went in on your own. And if you go in without His command or permission, He
will not go with you.
A soldier doesn't
attack the enemy without his commander's permission, for if he does, he does so
by himself and does not have the power of the commander or his army behind him.
Even so we must wait for our Commander's will in spiritual warfare.
Even Paul learned
this as he was preaching on his missionary journeys. Scripture records;
ACTS 16:4-7
4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them
the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which
were at
5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and
increased in number daily.
6 Now when they had gone throughout
7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into
They may not have
understood why the Holy Spirit would not allow them to go to
A good example of the consequences of not obeying God's
command is found in Numbers, when
Scripture
records;
NUMBERS 14:1-45
1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and
cried; and the people wept that night.
2 And all the children of
3 And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to
fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Were it
not better for us to return into
4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and
let us return into
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the
assembly of the congregation of the children of
6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of
Jephunneh, [which were] of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of
8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into
this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the
people of the land; for they [are] bread for us: their defense is departed from
them, and the LORD [is] with us: fear them not.
10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones.
And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before
all the children of
11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people
provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs
which I have shewed among them?
12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit
them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
13 And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall
hear [it], (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
14 And they will tell [it] to the inhabitants of this land:
[for] they have heard that thou LORD [art] among this people, that thou LORD
art seen face to face, and [that] thy cloud standeth over them, and [that] thou
goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire
by night.
15 Now [if] thou shalt kill [all] this people as one man,
then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
16 Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into
the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the
wilderness.
17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be
great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
18 The LORD [is] longsuffering, and of great mercy,
forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing [the guilty],
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth [generation].
19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people
according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this
people, from
20 And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy
word:
21 But [as] truly [as] I live, all the earth shall be
filled with the glory of the LORD.
22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my
miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now
these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto
their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with
him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he
went; and his seed shall possess it.
25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the
valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the
26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
27 How long [shall I bear with] this evil congregation,
which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of
28 Say unto them, [As truly as] I live, saith the LORD, as
ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all
that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years
old and upward, which have murmured against me,
30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, [concerning]
which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and
Joshua the son of Nun.
31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey,
them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
32 But [as for] you, your carcases, they shall fall in this
wilderness.
33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty
years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the
wilderness.
34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the
land, [even] forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities,
[even] forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this
evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness
they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
36 And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who
returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a
slander upon the land,
37 Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon
the land, died by the plague before the LORD.
38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of
Jephunneh, [which were] of the men that went to search the land, lived [still].
39 And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of
40 And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up
into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we [be here], and will go up unto the
place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned.
41 And Moses said, wherefore now do ye transgress the
commandment of the LORD? But it shall not prosper.
42 Go not up, for the LORD [is] not among you; that ye be
not smitten before your enemies.
43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites [are] there before
you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD,
therefore the LORD will not be with you.
44 But they presumed to go up unto the hill top:
nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out
of the camp.
45 Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which
dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, [even] unto Hormah.
Note that in verses 39-45,
Disobedience has its roots in rebellion, and as the prophet
Samuel said to King Saul concerning disobedience;
1 SAMUEL 15:22-23
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in
burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to
obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word
of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.
We as Christians
know that pagan religions and some parallel Christian religions are demonic,
and therefore we should be very careful in our dealings with them, and with
those who practice those religions.
Strongholds
are confined to specific areas.
We learned a strong lesson concerning this recently. My
wife had driven to the store, but on the way realized that she had forgotten
something, and needed to go back to the house to get it. She entered the
parking lot of a nearby Mormon church, turned around and headed back home to
retrieve the item she had forgotten.
As soon as she
walked through the door, she immediately became violently ill. As I was seeking
to find out what was causing her illness she offhandedly mentioned what had
happened, and suddenly I understood what was going on. She had innocently
entered Satan's territory, and by doing so, had given him the right to attack
her. We immediately went before the Lord, and repented of what she had done,
rebuked the demons that were afflicting her, and the attack stopped. It was
then that we learned about entering into territory that was legally owned and
controlled by Satan.
I went before the
Lord again concerning this Mormon Church, for my daughter needed to walk by
this church on her way to school each day, and I was afraid of her being
attacked by the demons there. God told me, "Their authority ends at the street." There is no sidewalk in
front of this church; therefore the demons attached to the church have
authority out to where the property meets the road. As long as she doesn't
leave the road, she is safe.
Something else to consider
concerning strongholds. If you give permission from people of other religions
to use your church, or invite them in as part of the "Inter-Faith" or
"ecumenical" movements, you are giving their demons permission to
enter the church. If you let the enemy within your gates, he will seek to
destroy your church stronghold from within.
A good example of that is a church in
Several years
later the pastor, a dynamic and God-fearing man, was called by the Lord to
pastor another church. I left shortly afterward as I had received a job offer
in another state.
When I left, the
church had a membership of several hundred people. Apparently they soon became
caught up in the Ecumenical and Inter-Faith movements, and within three years
after I left their membership had dwindled to about 15 regular people. Satan
had entered the church, and had destroyed it. Sadly, this is the same church I
spoke of in my testimony
page, the church where Satan literally prowled the parking lot, snarling in
frustration because the spirit of the Lord in the church was so strong that he
couldn't get anywhere near it.
Satan will try to
dwell where he has no legal right, such as in a Christian church, Christian
homes, etc. As such, with no legal right to remain there he can be rebuked and
cast out. But if he has the legal right
to remain there by right of ownership, different procedures must be followed.
With one exception, the only way to remove Satan's
ownership of a place is to destroy the structure(s) that he owns on that
property, and everything within that structure.
When God
commanded
As God told
Moses;
EXODUS 34:10-14
10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy
people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in
any nation: and all the people among which thou [art] shall see the work of the
LORD: for it [is] a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold,
I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and
the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the
inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst
of thee:
13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images,
and cut down their groves:
14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose
name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:
DEUTERONOMY 7:1-5
1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land
whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee,
the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and
the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and
mightier than thou;
2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee;
thou shalt smite them, [and] utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant
with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter
thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy
son.
4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that
they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against
you, and destroy thee suddenly.
5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their
altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their
graven images with fire.
There is one
exception to the above rule
The only other way to remove Satan from the premises of a
building or a piece of property would be if the Lord allows you to buy the
property and the building(s) which sit on the property. As such, you become the
legal owner of the property, and you have the legal right to cast Satan out of
it.
However, removing
the demons in this case will be a painstaking process. You will have to
thoroughly cleanse the church, removing or anointing with oil any cursed objects
which may be dedicated to demons as the Lord directs. You will also have to
anoint the doors and windows of the church to seal them, you must walk the
property line and claim the property as holy to the Lord, and must dedicate the
building and the grounds as holy to the Lord. Basically, you are dedicating the
property and everything in it to the Lord.
Ignorance is
no excuse.
Concerning the Mormon church I
spoke of, granted, my wife innocently entered the parking lot without knowing
the consequences of her actions, but one thing needs to be made clear.
If a soldier accidentally stumbles into an enemy
encampment, are the enemy forces going to say, "That's ok, you didn't know
we were here so we'll let you go. Sorry about that.”??? Of course not! They're
going to attack with everything they have!
Even so we must remember that if we commit sins of
disobedience, even if we do so in ignorance, we are still guilty before God and
are open to attack from Satan.
Scripture says;
LEVITICUS 5:15, 17
15 If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance,
in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the
LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of
silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering:
17 And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which
are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist [it]
not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.
Bottom line:
Our homes and churches are to be sanctuaries, places where
we can rest from battle. But if we
allow Satan access to our homes and churches through willful neglect or
ignorance, then we have no cause to cry out to God for relief.
We must be
diligent to frequently cleanse our houses of unclean or accursed objects that
we bring into our homes. How can the unclean things enter our house? Simple. We
bring them in. Some examples;
Videotapes - horror, graphic sex, foul language, magic (even in
cartoons) etc. Would you invite Jesus to see these movies with you? Remember, He sees all that you see.
Music - Not all music is evil. Listen to the lyrics. Would you
want Jesus to hear what you are listening to? Remember, His Spirit dwells within you, so whatever you hear, He hears
also! Ask Him what music is ok to listen to. And ask Him to tell you clearly what He finds offensive, even if you
don't want to hear it!
Mythological creatures - Statues and posters of unicorns, wizards,
gargoyles, dragons, etc.
Video games - Occult based, mythological/magic based, lewd pictures,
etc.
Idols - crucifixes, statues of Jesus, Mary, "saints",
medals, pictures & paintings of these, etc.
Television - Would you want Jesus to see what you watch? He does!
Would He approve?
Granted, it's
difficult to keep ourselves and our homes spiritually clean. Jesus never
promised it would be easy. Satan is a master deceiver, and will use any
deception he can to bring us into bondage. But as Paul said, we need to be
diligent;
2 CORINTHIANS 2:11
11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not
ignorant of his devices.
How does one
make the house a fortress?
Start by removing any objects such as the ones I have
listed above. Ask the Lord to guide you in this endeavor, and to show you
things that He considers to be unclean. In the case of idols, games, music CD's
and videotapes, anoint them with oil, and bind any demons attached to them in
the name of Jesus Christ. Then destroy the objects, and put them in the trash.
Walk through the
house and anoint the doors, and windows leading to the outside of the house.
What I mean by "anoint", is put a drop of oil (cooking oil, motor
oil, etc. It does not need to be "blessed" by anyone.) on the
top lintel and the side posts.
Any other
openings to the outside (fireplaces, vents (such as stove hoods) need to be
anointed as well). Be sure to do the same with mirrors also! Why mirrors? Satan
will use them as doorways when he can, as many who have played "Bloody
Mary" can attest.
When you are
finished with them, open a door to the outside, and command any demons within
the house to leave through that door. Then close the door, and out loud claim
the house and everything in it as holy to the Lord. This will "seal"
the house as the oil represents the power of the Holy Spirit.
Sound far-fetched?
Some close friends of ours anointed their apartment one night, and later that
night, the lady of the house awoke to hear voices whispering outside of the
apartment. At first she thought she was hearing things, then she realized that
her husband was listening to them too.
They both
attested that they could hear demons testing the doors and windows of the
house, seeking entrance. The demons were whispering to each other in
frustration, as they couldn't get in because the house had been sealed against
them.
Walking the
property
Those of you who live in a house, even if you're just
renting, need to walk the property line, and claim the property and everything
in it as holy to the Lord. Walk along the property line, and out loud, tell
Satan that he is forbidden to cross the property line, as the property is holy
ground before the Lord. Walk completely around the property line, if you can.
When you are finished, out loud command any demon on the premises to depart to
wherever the voice of the Lord shall send them. This will seal your property
before the Lord, and He will put His angels around it to protect it.
Sound weird?
Several years
ago, we had vandals come up our street late one night. They broke car windows,
put sand in people's oil in their cars, etc. They hit virtually every house on
the block.
Except one.
Our house was the
only one not touched by the destruction. I had walked the property the evening
before, and had claimed the property as holy unto the Lord, and He had
protected His property.
What if I
live in an apartment?
In the case of an apartment or condominium, walk around the
inner perimeter of the house, and claim the apartment or condominium as holy
property to the Lord. Also, if you are able, walk outside of your front door (and
back door, if you have one) and walk the porch and patio, and claim them as
holy unto the Lord also. Be sure to anoint all doors and windows leading to the
outside also.
Can the seal
be broken?
Most definitely. I had recently bought some video tapes of
several movies I liked, not thinking about what may have been attached to them.
Soon, there was strife in our house, and even when I anointed the house and
walked the property, the problems continued.
Finally, I went
before the Lord and asked what was going on, and he pointed out that I had
brought unclean objects into the house, and he led me to the videotapes. I
sheepishly apologized, and got rid of them. When I did, the problems stopped.
Recently the Lord
showed me that I need to pray over everything I bring into the house -
groceries, mail, whatever. The reason? Satan will attach his demons to anything
he can, when he tries to enter a house. And you never know who has handled that
which you bring into your house.
Sound paranoid?
Maybe. But remember, just because you might be paranoid, doesn't mean that
someone isn't out to get you. Ever read the Old Testament Law? Especially the
Scripture that says;
DEUTERONOMY 7:26
26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine
house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: [but] thou shalt utterly detest it,
and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it [is] a cursed thing.
and;
2 CORINTHIANS
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons
and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Bringing property
owned by Satan into your house or church will give him legal access to dwell
there. And as he is an abomination, he will quickly turn you and your house
into an abomination before the Lord if he is allowed to remain there.
How long
does the anointing seal last?
That depends on how soon something unclean is allowed onto
the property or in the house. If a unsaved friend, family member, or relative
is allowed to enter the house, that could break the seal. In case of relatives
or family members, ask the Lord to seal the house in such a way that the
person(s) involved will not break the seal when they enter the house, or come
on the property.
In the case of
visitors and friends, ask the Lord to maintain the seal while they are there,
and be sure to re-anoint the house and walk the property line as soon as
possible after they leave.
Some of this may
seem far-fetched, I know. I was skeptical when I first found out about it, but
the Lord has since shown me that these things indeed work. If you have doubts,
ask Him yourself to show you the truth of these things.
But it is up to us to make
our churches and homes to be fortresses against Satan and his servants. We must
also be aware of property dedicated to him, and keep away from it, unless the
Lord directs us to enter there.
We must be diligent to keep
the unclean thing from our households and churches, so as to keep ourselves
holy unto the Lord. And anything unclean within our house must be anointed with
oil, and the object destroyed, unless the Lord says that the anointing is
enough. Sometimes if an object is precious to us, He will allow us to keep it.
And I pray that the Lord will open your eyes to the truth
of these things. Too many churches are dead or dying because of demons dwelling
there, and too many households are torn apart by demons being allowed to dwell
within our homes. It's time we take the offensive against Satan, and reclaim
what is ours before the Lord.
Dr. Michael Harper