
The spirit of Baal operates through culture and religion. In Old Testament times the Amorites (includes Canaanite people) established the worship of false gods and called them ‘Baals’. There were different types of gods, but they were all called ‘Baal’. Death and destruction accompanied their worship.
Even today we see this manifestation in Islam. Sacrificing life is of little concern in Islam, especially sacrificing children for a ‘greater cause’. As late as the 1980’s, Khomeini, the Shiite leader of Iran, recruited 10,000 child volunteers to run through mine fields to clear them. As an enticement and reward he gave them each a certificate guaranteeing them entry to heaven. Islam incorporates violence into its ‘jihad’, or holy wars.
The Koran says "once sacred months are past, kill those who join other gods wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them with every kind of ambush; but if they convert and observe prayer and pay the obligatory alms, let them go on their way" (Sura 9:5). There is much in the sphere of Islam that is about death and destruction. Ask any Christian in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, or other strongly Islamic country and they will confirm the death and destruction implicit in Islam.
As leaders we can break the power of the spirit of Baal that brings death and destruction. We can declare the Spirit of Truth, Jesus, as the Lord of victory over that spirit! Jesus said "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). We declare life in place of death. Our weapons are powerful to pull down strongholds of the mind (2 Cor. 10:4) established through agreement with that spirit of Baal. We declare the Truth of Jesus over the death and destruction of various forms of American music, of Islam, of tribalism--wherever they have taken a position of strength. Our Lord is a strong tower who is mighty in battle (Ps. 61:3) and with the authority of the Name we declare victory over all the strategies of a Baal spirit to bring death and destruction. Praise Jesus' Name!
Now that we know how to combat Baal, click here to be taken to the next post in The Spirit of Baal Series, where we study the second key attribute of that spirit in more detail.
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