“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV)

Consider the following questions: Who or what exerts the greatest influence on your personal opinions? What are the external pulls that sway your thinking the most? If you are one who enjoys reading, what are some of your favorite topics and who are some of your favorite authors? From what ideological construct do your favorite authors or commentators maintain? When it comes to politics for example, what is your primary point of reference or your principle source or sources of information? Is it your favorite democrat or republican politicians? Is it your community or cultural influences? Is it the main stream network TV media? Is it your favorite afternoon opinion TV show such as The View? Is it your favorite athlete? Is it your favorite entertainers? Is it your family or co-workers? Is it your upbringing? Is it your Pastor or other religious leaders? Your religious denomination? Is it your high school teachers or college professors? Or, is it the God’s word? In other words, what are the sources that affect the standards for your beliefs and behavior? Your political and religious perspectives? How you stand on the leading issues of our day such as gun control, abortion, climate, the economy, religious freedom, the Constitution, and the economy? How you vote? And how you view the world?

In other words, we all have beliefs, viewpoints, and philosophical perspectives on life’s issues, however the million dollar question is not WHAT you believe, but WHY do you believe what you believe? If you address these questions honestly, you may find some of the answers very insightful as well as profound. In fact, if you were to explore this question of why you believe what you believe from a “big picture perspective,” you will be able to understand that ever since the serpent deceived Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden, there has been a literal, subtle and clandestine war for who and what will control our minds, our belief systems and our worldviews.

Even more importantly, is the fact that the war that I’m speaking of, is being waged with weapons far greater than any bomb, missile or gun. We are at war with weapons that are aimed at targets far more strategic than any building, land mass or army. The Apostle Paul in fact, pointed out to the Ephesians that, “we are not fighting against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12). In other words, we are at war with thoughts and ideas. We are at war with thoughts that are raised up against the knowledge of God.

To be more specific, ever since God first explained to Adam and Eve how to think so that they could live successful, fulfilled, obedient, and happy lives, there has been a constant battle over who or what will control the human thought process, man or God. And sooner or later, regardless if it is consciously or unconsciously ever human being since the fall of man has had to make that decision. Because Satan is keenly aware of the fact that our thought processes are largely the result of the stimuli that our brains have received from various inputs over our lifetime, and only by being careful can we win the battle for the control of our minds.

Compounding this battle in our contemporary times, is the reality that in this modern technologically dominated world of social media, cable TV, entertainment options, and the internet, we are all besieged on a daily basis by a cacophony of influences, sounds, impressions, imagery, media pundits, activists, entertainment, politicians, educators, religious leaders, sports figures, co-workers, friends and family, all of whom are competing for our time, attention, thoughts and feelings, and are always consciously or subconsciously striving to influence us on a given topic from a particular worldview. The utter volume of information, ideas and opinions that are relentlessly bombarding our minds, has created a quandary of information that is at the foundation of the modern battle for the control over our worldviews or what we think and why we believe what we believe.

In fact, it could be argued that if Paul were writing today, he would be especially alarmed by the fact that, as bad as it was in his day, because of all of the advancements in modern technology, social media, and the onslaught of the media, and the entertainment industry, due to this massive deluge of information and the many platforms of acquiring information, there is infinitely more competition out there for the control of our minds than there was in the first century. He would observe also just how subtly and clandestinely Satan has manipulated this competition in order to establish a firm beachhead in the minds of anyone who is not rooted and grounded in God’s word. And it is this deluge of information that the enemy is using to impact and influence the minds of an entire generation of Americans against the things of God.

Interestingly, it has been my observation over the years that when the issue of “Spiritual warfare” is discussed, most Christians tend to point primarily to casting out devils as in the case of most charismatic believers, while others tend to emphasize some particular event as in the case of the 2016 Presidential election, or some specific person or persons, a given political party or race as being the root of the problem or an act of Satan. In addition, many in the charismatic movement go as far as viewing almost every negative aspect of life as a demon operating. Expressing such verbiage as, “Generational spirits, spirits of addiction, divisive spirits, Jezebel spirits, this spirit, or that spirit are commonly used in many Charismatic and Pentecostal circles. While of course, there is obviously occasions in Scripture where Demons were cast out, however when it comes to the topic of spiritual warfare in Scripture, those examples were more of the exception rather than the rule.

Sadly, in America today, we are arguably experiencing one of the most polarizing and satanic activity overall in our history, or at least since the pre-Civil war era. America is currently divided on just about every imaginable cultural, sociological, religious, political, and financial issue including: race, the role of religion, the role of the Federal Government, the Constitution, sexual orientation, the use of the military, taxation, education, and so one. Astonishingly, this divide has become so wide, that many are going as far as having heated debates and confrontations over something as fundamental as what constitutes a family.

And while many in the media, in our government, in the entertainment industry and even in many pulpits, are pointing to existential reasons such as race, or the opposition political party, the truth of the matter however, is that Satan’s ultimate or primary weapon of his spiritual arsenal from the very beginning of time, has always been to impact and influence our minds, our ideologies, our decision making, or our worldviews. Satan realizes that since it is our eyes and ears that are the most important channels for communicating with the brain, what can be embedded in your mind thru our eyes and ears, will largely determine how you think. In other words, it will always remain true, as the writer of Proverbs observed, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Therefore, if the enemy can lie, distort, confuse, misrepresent or otherwise keep us ignorant of God’s word, God’s ways or His will, particularly if those satanic influences influence causes you to totally lack discernment, or otherwise reject his salvation and to die in your sins, and if that confusion, dysfunction subsequently leads to the breakdown of a culture, then he has achieved his ultimate objective.

The mind and the flesh

Paul, who was probably the greatest missionary of all times, demonstrated his awareness of this principle when he confessed to the Church at Rome that in spite of the anointing that was on his life, he still had to contend with the daily struggle between the spirit and the Flesh. Paul referred to this struggle as a “war.” In other words, he was dealing with a constant battle over which thoughts were going to control His mind thereby influencing his life decisions and actions. Paul illustrated this struggle between the mind and the flesh when he said to the Roman believers:

“For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Romans 7:19-23 NKJV).

Just as Paul confessed his daily struggles between his mind and his flesh, the same holds true with each one of us. We all have to live daily with this war between the spirit and the flesh. In fact, later in Paul’s treatise to the Roman Christians, which by the way, many biblical scholars assert is the greatest theological dissertation every written, because of the inner battle that we all face, he places emphasis on the importance of “Not being conformed to this world (the spirit of the age), but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12: 2).

To put it another way, becoming a Christian can be compared to relocating to a foreign country where everything is completely different. In order to successfully navigate through this new environment, you would have to learn about and integrate into this different culture. You would need to learn the different laws and ordinances, you would need to learn a new language and you would need to develop a new sense of direction by using a map or some other way to be able to navigate around until you became familiar with the directions in your new environment. Similarly, for the believer, especially if you are a new convert, this entire process begins in the mind. In fact, Paul underscored this principle when he called upon the new Christians in Rome to be, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1).

The true nature of spiritual warfare

A much closer examination of scripture reveals that the main focal point of Satan’s strategies is to impact and influence our minds, our beliefs, or our worldviews. Scripture reveals that Satan has two basic purposes: First of all, to distract Gods plans, and secondly to deceive God’s People. And ever since his fall, it has been his primary modus operandi to influence the mind to follow him and rebel against God. Ironically, scripture records that there was a time when Lucifer was God’s most beautiful creation. He was the “Anointed Cherub that Covers”. He led the praise that went up to God in heaven. However, he allowed the sin of pride to enter into his heart. Then because of his dazzling beauty, he felt that he deserved to be exalted above God. Satan then led a rebellion in Heaven in which a third of the angelic population was deceived by him to rebel against God (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28: 14-18). Subsequently, he was stripped of his heavenly position and cast out of heaven. And God prepared a place for him called hell which is reserved for Satan and all those who have chosen to follow him. However, his plan to “distract and deceive” did not end there. From that point until now, Satan has been unleashing an onslaught of deception, distraction, and destruction on the human race. In fact, every since his initial fall, he has established a pattern in his methods for man’s defeat. Understanding these tendencies is imperative if we are going to wage a successful warfare.

Paul in fact on many occasions emphasized this idea during the course of his ministry. Consider for example, this admonition in his second letter to the Christians in Corinth where he records, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). But he did not stop there in his exegesis. He continues to explain the true nature of strongholds when he declared, “Casting down IMAGINATIONS and every high thing that exalts itself against THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, bringing EVERY THOUGHT into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10: 5-6). When examining the issue of spiritual warfare from a big picture perspective, I would argue that at “The root” of all of Spiritual warfare is conducted in our minds, in our thoughts and in our worldviews. In other words, it is the battle for the control, manipulating and influencing of our minds that is Satan’s ultimate weapon, his ultimate scheme. Or, to use a military illustration, mind control is Satan’s ultimate “Weapon of mass deception.” Because it is the mind that controls the will, our ideas, opinions and our worldviews, and it is our will, and our worldviews which in turn controls our actions.

Interestingly, this battle for the influence and control of our minds as a way to impact society that we are witnessing today can be traced all the way back to the Garden of Eden. In fact, Paul warned the Church at Corinth that psychological manipulation has been the scheme of Satan going all the way back to the Garden of Eden (2 Cor. 11:3). In other words, every since God gave Adam and Eve their initial instructions regarding his plan for their lives, Satan has launched a constant battle over who will gain control over the thought process or ideology of man. Eventually, every human being has to decide (whether consciously or unconsciously) as to whose voice they are going to live by. Furthermore, no matter how good people are able to make things sound; the bottom line is that the only two voices speaking are the voice of Satan and the voice of God.

The Law of First Mention

To examine this idea in more depth, it is important to understand an important hermeneutic principle (or law or science of biblical interpretation) known as the “Law of first mention:” Simply stated, the law of first mention is a biblical interpretation principle that refers to recognizing that when a particular word, doctrine, principle, subject or idea is mention in scripture for the first time, it provides the biblical interpreter with the framework, the foundation, the blueprint or the template for how that same idea, doctrine, subject or principle can be understood for the remainder of scripture.

In other words, when we see the first appearance of a given idea, we can then use that first mention in order to examine the development of that idea throughout the remainder of scripture. The reasoning is that the Bible’s first mention of a given concept is usually in its simplest and clearest presentation. Doctrines are then more fully developed over time based on that original foundation. Subsequently, by considering the first mention principle when interpreting other portions of scripture, the biblical interpreter can be aided by considering the first-time a given subject, doctrine or idea is mentioned in scripture. In so doing, you will discover that the interpretation of the given topic will be consistent throughout the bible. In addition, the biblical interpreter will also, consistently observe that the first occurrence of the given topic will be seen as dominant as a rule and impacts all later usages to that idea, principle or doctrine. This principle of course presupposes that the Bible is viewed as a complete Book, rather than merely a compilation of books. Though God used many human authors, in the ultimate sense there is really only one author who is God. And since God knows the end from the beginning, as an author, He was able to formulate in the first mention of a thing that which characterizes it in its progressive unfolding.

The First Mention of Spiritual Warfare

To explore the many examples of the first mention principle, it is obvious that we have to go to the book of Genesis. The name “Genesis” in itself is revealing by its very name which means “Beginnings.” From the pages of Genesis, we learn for example of such beginnings (Or first mentions) as, the beginning of creation, the beginning of man, the beginning of marriage and family, the beginning of sin, the beginning of redemption, the beginning of human civilizations, the beginnings of human languages, and so forth. However, when it comes to the subject of spiritual warfare, the most important first mention in all of scripture is recorded in Genesis chapter three with first mention of the account of the fall of man and the beginning of sin which by the way is the ultimate satanic spiritual warfare achievement against humanity.

First mention of the fall of man:

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1-5 NKJV).

In examining this infamous scene at the Garden of Eden where sin was first entered into the world and all of man’s struggles began, this struggle for the control of Eve’s mind is clearly evident. Notice first of all, the description of Satan as being “More cunning, or subtle of any beast of the field that the Lord God made.” Notice also the back and forth dialog between Satan and Eve. Satan opened his conversation with the woman by saying, “Yea hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” This question was meant to imply doubt. What Satan is most concerned with is to bring us to doubt whether God has ever spoken. This is invariably his starting point, and if he can thrust his wedge in here, the rest of the process will be greatly expedited. His purpose is to denigrate God’s ultimate authority. He must discredit the Word of God at all cost, because it is that Word that tells of his origin and fall.

Observe particularly the approach that Satan takes in order to influence and deceive Eve. In fact, the specific wording of Satan’s inquiry is particularly significant. Throughout the narrative we see the words “and the woman said” followed by the words, “and the serpent said.” It was with this satanic contradiction that not only had a powerful influence on the mind of Eve, it also established the pattern or the template for the way that Satan would attempt to control people’s minds for the duration of history. Essentially, Satan placed Eve in a position of having to make a choice between obeying “what God said,” or doing what “the serpent said.” This was clearly a very subtle move by Satan because not only did it feed into Eve’s emotions, but by distorting and misrepresenting what God Said, Satan was able to create an element of doubt in Eve’s mind regarding God’s word.

Today, just as in the Garden of Eden, there is a titanic war being waged for the control of our minds. Satan’s ultimate objective is to influence our minds to adopt ideas that are in contradiction to the Word of God and God’s will. It is important therefore, that we understand that our actions are a direct result of our thoughts. If we have a negative mind, we will have a negative life. The argument could also be made, that in America in particular, many of our problems are “rooted” in thinking patterns (or worldviews) that actually produce many of our problems. The decision of whose voice or influence we embrace is one that no man can ever escape. Regardless if you make the decision consciously or unconsciously, everyone has to decide. It is therefore important that everyone understands, that the decisions that we make as individuals, families, churches and as a nation, will determine the degree of success or failure that we will experience in this life.

In short, the warfare that most believers encounter on a daily basis is the battle of the mind. We are constantly locked in a struggle to cast down thoughts and images that are contrary to the Word of God. Too often, Satan is able to gain an advantage over us by manipulating, or distracting our thought life in a way that leads to the careless actions or embracing of deceptive and false doctrine by carnal Christians. One major and more controversial examples that has been dominating our political landscape where this societal distraction can be seen most prominently, is the issue of racial division. Now, obviously this is an extremely controversial and divisive topic, and while I will be addressing this issue in much more detail in my forthcoming book, suffice it to say that from a biblical worldview and spiritual warfare perspective, the “root” of our cultural dysfunction has nothing to do with the color of our skin, but rather in man’s fallen Adamic nature. In other words, from a biblical worldview perspective, we do not have a skin color problem or a race problem, but what we have instead is a sin problem.

As Eve discovered, this deception begins in the mind, our worldviews, or our ideological and philosophical perspectives on the world. Therefore, some of the most crucial spiritual battles we will face will be mental battles. This of course makes it imperative that we as believers comprehend just how important it is for us to know and discern the method of approach of the enemy. It is important to remember, that this titanic struggle for the control of our minds was not just isolated in the Old Testament. We are constantly surprised that in this great spiritual warfare in which we are engaged, there is so little attention paid to the strategy of warfare adopted by our enemy. It is not enough to know his origin, his power, or even his purpose to use us to thwart and discredit God. It is necessary to also have a clear grasp of his methods and procedures.

Worldview defined

In the simplest terms, our worldview can be defined as, a mental framework of ideas about the world and about life, the lens or the glasses or the filter through which one views and interprets the world around us, a comprehensive conception of the world through a specific viewpoint, your personal concept of reality, a theory of the world used for living in the world, the ideological framework which shapes a person’s view of reality, the overall perspective in which one sees and interprets the world and events. Our worldview can also be seen as a collection of beliefs about life, religion and culture held by individuals or by groups, a philosophy, or the presuppositions that influence our outlook on life and how we perceive the world we live in.

To put it another way, your worldview is like a set of glasses that you look through to bring

what is happening in the world into mental focus. If you like computers for example, you can think of your worldview as your operating system, the thing that converts your life experiences into the ones and zeros that your mind understands. More simply, your worldview is your gut-level, instinctive responses to basic philosophical questions about life, the world, religion and politics, as well as the basis for your reactions to events and life’s circumstances. A comprehensive worldview is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individuals or society’s knowledge and point of view. The beliefs, values, and behaviors of a culture stems directly from its worldview.

A smorgasbord of ideas

Worldviews are so much a part of our daily lives that whether we recognize it or not, we see and hear them every day. In fact, on a continual basis, we are faced with a smorgasbord of worldviews, all of which make claims concerning truth. And whether we are cognizant of it or not, whether consciously or unconsciously, we are all challenged to sort through this assortment of worldviews from a plethora of sources. For example, movies, television, the media, music, magazines, newspapers, government, education, science, art, family, friends, co-workers, and your religious affiliations if any, all have an impact on our worldview. And if we ignore their significance on their impact on how we think and understand the world, we do so at our own detriment. In simpler terms, our worldview is a view of the world and a view for the world. The proper worldview helps us by orienting us to the intellectual and philosophical terrain about us.

Case in point, you might ask, how is it possible for two intelligent, individuals who both love God can be so radically different in their conclusions on certain issues? Well the answer is simply that it is all about our particular system by which we interpret the world known as our worldview. In other words, every one of us have presuppositions that influence how we think, our outlook on life and our perceptions of what is right and what is wrong. Whether educated or uneducated, religious or non-religious, rich or poor, black or white, male or female, good or bad, liberal or conservative, democrat or republican, Catholic or Protestant, we all have a belief system or way of looking at the world that influences how we think, how interpret life and how we react to various stimulus. Putting it another way, an individual’s worldview is your “big picture,” your harmony of all your beliefs about the world, your way of understanding reality and your basis for making daily decisions. This insight therefore, makes your individual worldviews extremely critical in effecting our individual decisions and destinies.

In natural warfare, reconnaissance parties to determine the location, strength and tactics of the enemy, are indispensable in successful military campaigns. The measure of success of all war maneuvers is the measure of efficiency of the spying and secret service systems. Likewise, in the field of competitive sports, the experienced coach builds his offense and defense against a certain opponent from the information he has obtained of the strengths, weaknesses, previous patterns and tendencies of a particular rival from an efficient corps of scouts. How much more then should we, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, be aware of the methods of that most clever of all opponents who would compass our downfall and dishonor the Captain of our salvation?

Finally, as believers in Christ, keeping our minds in conformity to God’s word should be our greatest priority. For the mind is Satan’s battle ground. The degree of success or failure that we have in life, hinges on what and how we think and the subsequent decisions that we make as a result. This is true in our individual lives, our families, our churches and how we vote for our elected officials.

There are other battle grounds that we are going to be studying, but the foundation for success or failure is laid in our minds. For instance, the success or failure of our families hinges on the husbands and wife’s ideology (thinking) regarding their respective roles. The extent in which our churches grow, hinges on the leaderships ability to “rightly divide” and “rightly apply” the Word of God. In other words, who is controlling what we think. Is it the teachings of the word of God, or is it the philosophies of Satan? In my upcoming book on, The Three Battle Zones of the Enemy, I will be doing a much more thorough examination of this and several other topics.