What is actually spiritual warfare
The problem of spiritual warfare is important especially today, because many of us have realised that this is not a time of peace, it is not an ordinary time, but a time of war and of spiritual war in particular. One who is aware of the spiritual war has shifted his or her perspective and sees now the important things and the real things as they are.
I have heard people saying, “I’m not going to waste my time in meditation or in prayer. I’m going to do political action. I’m going to do things that have an impact on society and the world.” I think this is a wrong approach. This is wrong not because political action is not important — actually it is very important and I admire and I support those people who take the courage to risk their safety, their job, and even their life maybe, and have their voice heard and organise protests and take legal action.
The iceberg
The best way to describe spiritual war is by using the metaphor of the iceberg. There is a spiritual reality and there is a material reality. Obviously, the spiritual world is that which we don’t see, which remains to a large extent outside of our senses. But the picture of the iceberg shows us that what we see is not the only thing that exists out there, and that in fact the most part of reality is hidden underwater.
This metaphor is relevant not only in terms of quantity, in the sense that what we see is just a tiny part of the whole, it is also significant in terms of relevance, that is, the largest part of reality, which is invisible to our senses, is also the one that determines the course of action. This means that the political actions that people take or the things that we see in the news are the result of spiritual action. And the outcome of the political warfare that we see outside is the result of spiritual warfare.
An evil plan
The plan of the evil ones for humanity is harsh. There is no doubt about that, and we have seen the proofs that organisations with malicious political projects have infiltrated governments, the media, political parties, and NGOs. There are many changes they have in store for us: Digital currencies that would highly restrict our freedom of buying and selling, digital IDs and digital passports that would highly restrict our freedom of movement and our freedom to work, new laws that implement a police state based on surveillance and control, new forms of censorship of the media, new forms of surveillance and control over people’s bodies and their physiological spheres, new restrictions imposed on healthy food, and new restrictions on traditional methods of healing, to mention just a few.
These things are not theory, they are not hypothetical, they are not sci-fi. However, we should not be afraid, and we should not see them as a predestination plan for humankind. This is not a plan that cannot be averted. Legal action against abusive government measures is most effective. Yet, someone must have that power and the courage to do it. Some people will be there and will be able to do it if there is enough spiritual backup for them. In some parts of the world, it’s going to be harsh. In other parts of the world, it’s going to be easier. If there is nobody around to invoke divine grace, to call the Light of God upon your land, to ask for God’s mercy upon your people, do not be surprised if darkness, suffering, violence, and tyranny have invaded your country. But thankfully there are many highly spiritual people everywhere who are not in the spotlight; it is also true that divine help is not necessarily the result of human prayer, because God can impart grace as He wants.
Now, most people have false conceptions about spiritual warfare. They refuse to see a link between the spiritual world and the material world. If they do accept that there is such a connection, they would say that spirituality is just an epiphenomenon or a byproduct of the material reality, whereeas religions teach us that reality is exactly the other way around.
Ever since the Enlightenment, the modern world has strived to promote this idea that the things we do in the moral sphere have no impact on other spheres whatsoever, that is, the ethical dimension of our actions is just an fringe phenomenon, something unimportant and without consequences in the physical reality, which is only subject to physical laws and nothing else. That is the sort of a mechanicist universe, which sees spiritual problems as having their place in the world of cultural artifacts and nowhere else, and that they have no intersection with the physical reality.
The metaphor of the iceberg shows us that there is a large part of the battle in the invisible realm, and that battle is not only large, but also determinant for the course of events in the visible realm. The things that happen in the spiritual world are not disconnected from the real and the political world at all. But what exactly is at stake in this war?
A battle over what?
What is at stake here is not your freedom, your money, your home, or your job. It is not even your life. These things are all important and good, but they are not at stake. What is at stake in this war is your heart and your soul.
What does it mean that you’re a winner or a loser?
If there is anything that you can lose in this war, that’s love, the love that you have in your heart. That’s the candle that burns in your soul, which the evil one wants extinguished; he wants it exhausted and he will take all his efforts to extinguish it. This is the essence of the war. He is trying to cultivate all the negative emotions in you. He is trying to extinguish the flame of love in your heart. You need to be aware that any negative emotion — anger, pride, fear, greed, envy, rancor, etc.– is very toxic for your soul.
Once we realise that the real value, the real things that are worthy are not those that we fought for for our whole life but something else, then our hearts start to change and we become ready for this war.
Let me say it once again: I am not claiming that political action and protests are useless. They may be good and useful. But they are inefficient if they lack spiritual backup. Now, you may live in an area where nobody is interested in spirituality, and yet you may still enjoy spiritual backup. Such backup may come from the past or from far away — given that there are many people in this world who pray for the entire world, and their prayer is being heard indeed.
Alright, this is a spiritual war. But how does one fight such a war?
Askesis
Think of an army that is well organised. Before taking you in, they will ask you to train, to exercise, to get into shape, to take your weapons with you, and to get fully clothed. So too is it with spiritual warfare: Before engaging in the war you need to change, and the change must be within.
Askesis in Greek means “exercise”. You need to exercise, to prepare yourself for the day the real battle comes. Spiritual leaders, such as St Pachomius, St Ignatius, and others received training like real soldiers and later they applied their warfare experience to the spiritual realm.
Your weapons
There are already two armies at war with each other. The army of the dark forces are very good at what they are doing; they take themselves seriously. They really do their homework and to a large extent they rely on the laziness, carelesness, and faithlessness of those who could do good but do not do it. So doing your share is important. Nothing is wasted, nothing is useless.
What can you do in a spiritual war? Meditation, prayer, acts of love, contemplation, and fasting: These are weapons that have been known for millenia in Christianity, in Judaism, and in fact in all the spiritual traditions. Nothing of your efforts is wasted.
Invisible battles
The spiritual war is invisible because it is inside. Most of the war takes place inside people’s hearts. You may be one of those who say, “I’m a good guy, I don’t need to change. The system is wrong, the system is corrupt, but I, like many others, am good and I’m a victim of the system.” That’s an idea of Gnostic origin, which has been propagated for decades by Holywood movies, by pop culture, by the rock culture, and by the hiphop culture. If you think that there is nothing wrong inside you, then certainly something is wrong there. Why? Because the beginning of the problem is arogance, self-sufficiency, and ego.
Do not judge
Do not judge others. They may not fight the same battles that you do. Be patient with them. Maybe they are in a spiritual battle and you don’t know that. Maybe they look a bit weird, maybe they seem slow, or lazy, or agitated, or scared; do not judge them. The strange thing about spiritual war is that many people around fail to see the war and keep behaving as if in times of peace. Be patient with those around you; they may be on the front.
Be wary of success
Be very careful of your own success. Be extremely wary of being promoted in your career or of marking a success in terms of wealth. It’s not like there was anything wrongwith that, but you just need to accompany such situations with lots of gratefulness to God. Say “thank you” for it and try to not see it as the result of your own merit.
An especially problematic situation is when you become rich in intellectual gifts or, even more so, when you get spiritual gifts. The moment you see yourself as a talented speaker and a gifted intellectual, be very careful, for these are forms of wealth just as dangerous as the material wealth. “How difficult it is for the wealthy to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven!” — this warning refers to intellectual wealth and spiritual wealth, too!
Beware of the victories that you report — maybe you managed to lose weight, maybe you managed to fast, maybe you managed to get a university degree, maybe you managed to publish a book. These are all dangerous forms of success, and it is difficult to see them as such in this world that cultivates pride and virtue signalling.
Be wary of your success in spiritual battles, too. Be careful not to judge those who have failed, those who have fallen, or those who appear to have lost a battle. Many people have become very proud because they resisted taking the v_x, and this was a very insidious way of the evil one to conquer their hearts. Yes, the v_x was bad, and yes, the pandemic was a large carnival of deception that was made possible by bribed politicians, bribed doctors, bribed scientists, and bribed journalists, while many others were just naïve or just too busy to see the truth.
Anyone can lose his or her soul even if unv_xed; and many people who have taken the v_x will be saved; there is no correlation rule here. If you managed to resist the cvd-tyranny and if you kept yourself “pure blood”, as some put it, yet in the end you allowed your heart to become full of hatred, rancor, and pride, then can you say that you’re a winner? If you lost the battle of love, you’ve been tricked. Take good care of this.
