Kneeling Wars

May 25

When I picture in my mind what Hell will be like, I see people writhing in pain that won’t go away. They twist and squirm, cry and cry out, but there’s no comfort to be found, just unending struggle. The demons, for whom Hell was created, are both suffering and inflicting the suffering. When I saw the video of George Floyd, his neck being pressed into the pavement of a Minneapolis street, as he kept turning his head trying to find some relief from the strangulation of the kneeling police officer’s knee pressing down onto George’s neck, slowly and painfully strangling him to death, I saw a man going through Hell. A massive demon, his prickly spine under his slimy skin, was perched upon the shoulders of Officer Chauvin. The demon covered the officer’s ears with his massive wings to shut out the voices that were pleading for George’s life. The demon briefly uncovered Chauvin’s ears, and another spirit whispered to him with an eerily gruff voice, “Don’t listen to them! You’re the authority here!” Then the perched demon covered the policeman’s ears again. High above the ground was a cloud of dark spirits swirling like a cyclone, blocking the light of the sun, and covering the whole sky, casting a dark shadow over the entire city. Every few seconds, a different spirit would swoop down to whisper words of hatred, pride and murder, as the one assigned to Chauvin availed Chauvin’s ears for a new hellish message from a cohort. With each demonic message, “he deserves it!“…”show him no mercy!”…”Kneel harder”…”If he dies, he dies!”…Chauvin’s resolve hardened, as did his knee in George’s neck. Finally, George experienced the thing Hell loves most: death.

May 31

Dispatched from the very throne room of God, powerful angels of light streaked downward, leaving a trail of fire behind them. Their orders were to minister life to the city of their destination: Miami, FL. U.S.  They descended to one hundred feet above the earth and formed a fiery, brilliant cloud that illuminated all of Miami. Down below, crowds had gathered on the streets to protest. Dispatched from the city’s highest authority, police officers stood, ready to maintain order. The mighty Michael called seven of the most effective angels: humility, contrition, encouragement, service, friendship, empathy “To the officers! Speak the love of the King!” The seven chosen spirits of light dropped majestically onto seven of the officers of the Miami PD. They landed softly and spoke clearly into their ears, “Humble yourself”…“Feel their pain.”…“Tell them you’re sorry.”…”Comfort them.”… “They’re not your enemy.” The angels spoke not as forceful commands, but as suggestions. And the Miami police officers took their every suggestion. The officers knelt and apologized from their hearts. Michael had also assigned hundreds of angels to communicate to the protesters. Their message? Forgive. And forgive they did. Officers and protesters embraced each other, held each other, showed kindness to one another, and cried together. Michael and the other angels maintained their lofty position to fight off any of the angels of darkness that might come to confuse, but they never came. They knew, from experience with Michael and the Heavenly host, that they were outmatched. The sky shone brighter in Miami that day than anywhere else in the world. And Heaven drank from the cups of the victories it seeks most: Love and Life.

Hell gained a kneeling war victory in Minneapolis last week and Heaven won one in Miami. But the kneeling wars are not over, and I’m enlisting in the service of the Heavenly King. Kneeling, I ask you, God, to help our nation heal, send spirits of love and life and give them voices louder than the ones of their hellish foes. Satan, I have something to say to you! Still kneeling in honor of God, my victorious King, I speak to you in the name of Jesus, the one sent to free us from your hateful clutches, the one who gave His life to completely disarm you and render you defeated. You have no place in our lives or in our nation! I command you with the authority given to me by Almighty God through my friendship with His Son, Jesus, to be silent! You are a false-accusing, destructive deceiver, and your lies are not welcome in the ears of the people of this land! So be silent! And I, still kneeling now, have something to say to my African-American fellow citizens. I’m sorry for the way our country has treated you. Your ancestors were enslaved under a banner of freedom for all people. I’m sorry! I’m sorry that, after slavery was outlawed in our land, several states passed laws to limit your freedom to earn, learn, travel, dine, socialize, own and vote in the way your white neighbors could. I’m sorry your parents and grandparents were held down in a disadvantaged position, unable to give their children many of the opportunities my white friends and I enjoyed. I’m sorry you were stripped of your dignity in front of your families, and I commend so many of my African-American friends for the way you have carried yourselves in the face of discrimination. I’m sorry for the voices of hate hurled against you like a dagger into your heart. I’m sorry for the crimes committed against you, especially the ones that went unpunished and even unacknowledged. I’m sorry for the police brutality and discrimination you’ve endured from our legal system. I’m sorry for the faint voice  you’ve heard that says you’re inferior. You, most certainly, are not! That’s the voice of Satan, regardless of what person’s lips have spoken it, and he is the father of lies. You’re as valuable, as intelligent, as favored by God as any race has ever been! In fact, because of your troubles and trials, you are beneficiaries of a special love and favor from God! He has plans for you! Your tomorrow is Life in God. 

Finally, I’d like to say something to my friends who would criticize me for this post: Don’t bother. Instead, please join me in kneeling for victory.

Acknowledgement: Thanks and credit to Frank E. Peretti, author of This Present Darkness, Piercing the Darkness, Tilly, and The Cooper Kids Adventure Series and more. While I didn’t quote any of his material here, I definitely borrowed his style of describing activity in the spirit realm. I just happened to be re-reading This Present Darkness last week, and its influence on this week’s blog is unmistakable.