Discerning Seasons (6) - Corporate Spiritual Strongholds

I have just realised that when I wrote the article called Tipping Point in the series on Discerning Seasons, I left out this important category. So here it is. The full article can be found at Discerning Seasons.

Christians with authority in the secular world can amplify God’s authority in their culture by submitting to the Holy Spirit. The reverse is true. The forces of evil can leverage their authority in a similar way by building corporate spiritual strongholds.
When the people with power in a society all begin to believe a lie, it seeps into the hearts and minds of those who submit to their authority. The lie becomes a corporate mental stronghold affecting everyone living. The lie could be a religious belief, a negative attitude about themselves or bad attitude to other people.

A corporate mental stronghold is a false idea that takes hold in a culture so that it is accepted by everyone in the area. When demonic powers can attach themselves to the lie that is accepted everywhere in a culture, they can establish a corporate spiritual stronghold. Everyone who submits to the powers of the city or nation open themselves to the same spirits.

Paul referred to spiritual powers that have a corporate spiritual stronghold over a city or nation “principalities and powers”. By concentrating on a spiritual weakness that pervades a culture, these spiritual forces can concentrate their power and amplify their authority. The spirits that have control over political and religious leaders can gain huge authority, if the people submitting to these leaders have similar attitudes and beliefs. (Peter Wagner describes a corporate spiritual stronghold that has taken hold in Japan.)

Even though there are many Christians in the society, the principalities and powers have amplified their authority by controlling the people with political or religious power.

Corporate spiritual strongholds are really difficult to beat.

• The political and religious powers have given the spirits permission
  to be there. Christians can pray and bind the spirits, but as soon as
  they turn their back, the people with authority effectively “pull
  rank” and give them permission to return.

• Some Christians have been seriously harmed when engaging in
  spiritual warfare against principalities and powers that have been
  given permission to be there by people with greater authority.

• When new people move into positions of authority, they are quickly
  overwhelmed by the spiritual forces and begin to go along. This is why
  democratic change often fails. The newly elected government is soon
  dominated by the same spirits, so nothing changes. (Think Obama).

Corporate spiritual strongholds are there with permission of political
or religious leaders, so these leaders will have to be kicked out or
changed before the stronghold can be removed. The key to changing the
spiritual situation is changing the people with authority.

• Paul urged Christians to pray for kings and people in authority,
  so they would change their hearts and boot out the principalities and
  powers (1 Tim 2:2).

• Jesus urged those who are preaching the gospel to seek out the
  person of influence in a town (Matt 10:11).

• The prophet Daniel changed the spiritual climate in Babylon when
  the kings acknowledged his wisdom and spiritual authority.

• When the people of Nineveh heard Jonah’s preaching and
  repented, the king of Nineveh also shook himself free.

• Influencing the authorities that keep corporate spiritual
  strongholds in place is an important part of the prophetic minsitry.

If the corporate stronghold is really strong and those with authority
in the society are staunch in their support, the only solution might be a Destructive
Judgement that sweeps them away. For example, when the Kings of
Babylon got too hard, God allowed the Medes and Persians to destroy them.
Daniel gained influence with Cyrus the Mede (Dan 6) and the he submitted
to God. A destructive judgment will be God’s last resort, because it is
hard to avoid collateral damage.