We are in a Spiritual War

It is obvious that we live in very dangerous times. Clearly, I am not referring to Covid-19 which I assume all readers of this blog realise is just a more or less conventional virus that is being used as a means to an end, that end being control and dominance. The virus is really the least of our worries. It will kill off some elderly people just as flu and pneumonia regularly do but it will not do much harm to the great majority. By all means, we should protect the vulnerable but it should be apparent to anyone by now who bothers to look beyond the official propaganda that our reaction has been totally disproportionate to the threat. Whether that is because of fear and panic or politicians, administrators and other figures of the establishment wanting to hold onto power or even something deliberate and planned is another matter. Whatever the cause of it all, the reality is that we have been deceived into giving up freedom.

The real danger is spiritual and this, I fear, is only the beginning. The groundwork has been carefully laid over the last few decades, centuries even. We have been gradually led away from the knowledge that our life is centred in God to a worldview which is totally materialistic and atheistic. This to the extent that even many people who think they are spiritual or religious still adapt most of their thinking to the materialistic ethos. I am not always exempt from this myself. It's the water in which we swim and it can be difficult to throw it off completely. But look at Christ and the prophets of old. They did not compromise with the worldly powers and worldly wisdom one iota. They grounded themselves totally in spiritual knowledge without any concession to the world. We too must do this. There can be no compromise with lies, even lies plausibly dressed up to look like partial truths. Why bother with partial truths when you have the truth? They are usually just means to smuggle in the lie anyway.

I say the danger is spiritual. What I mean by this is that we will be asked to give up more and more of our personal integrity. Our right to believe what we wish to believe, do what want to do, independent of any external authority. We will be made, through fear, desire for favour or money, to adopt a certain way of being. Many people are rightly concerned about the possibility of being obliged to accept a vaccination if they wish to lead a normal life. If this ever really does come about we will know that a line has been crossed and that freedom really has been lost. At the moment, that does seem to be the way things are heading but the more people who are alert to the dangers of spiritual slavery, the more difficult it will be for the powers that be to enforce their evil agenda. I use that word because that is what it is. Evil is that which seeks to control and dominate for its own benefit. It seeks to deny free will. It seeks to enslave. Evil is a spiritual reality that the modern world does not recognise but that just means that ordinary individuals, never mind the corrupt egotists and degenerate psychopaths who rule us, are more susceptible to it.

Jesus said when speaking about the End Times that, "except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved". This sounds grim. It implies that evil will grow so powerful in its scope that resistance becomes well-nigh impossible. But then he went on to say that, "for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened".  So we must be prepared for things to get very bad but, at the same time, know that the eventual outcome is not in doubt. For those who remain steadfast and centred in God, victory is assured. This is spiritual victory, not necessarily to be known in this world, as it wasn't for Jesus himself, but it will be real and lasting victory.

The two qualities most important right now are courage and honesty. I am assuming a spiritual orientation. If you don't have, or don't soon acquire, that you will be completely at the mercy of the worldly powers. But even with a spiritual orientation you must have the courage to confront the evil that is being more clearly revealed with every week that passes. And you must be honest because in a world of lies all that can save us is the truth. These two qualities, it will be remarked, are those of the martyr and it seems very probable that in the days to come we will all be examined to see what stuff we are made of.  This should not be a frightening thought. It is actually a privilege to be alive at such a time. We are called to be soldiers in God's army. This army has to fight but it is a spiritual fight and the weapons must be the spiritual weapons of love and truth. However, don't be deceived by how the enemy has tried to disarm that first weapon by reducing it from something brave, bold and fiery to a bland universal acceptance of everything, good or bad, on its own terms. The highest love is the love of the good, the beautiful and the true, and this love will not stand by when these things are attacked.