Air Superiority, Part 3
Air Superiority in World War II
“Arthur Travers Harris, known as “Bomber” Harris, became commander of RAF (Royal Air Force) Bomber Command in early 1942. Until then, Bomber Command hadn’t done much, but the energetic and controversial Harris soon changed all that. He became the architect and chief proponent of nighttime ‘area bombing’ of major German cities. In March of 1942, he struck Lübeck. In April, he bombed Rostock. Then, on the night of May 30-31, 1942, he launched a devastating, 1,000-bomber attack on Cologne.
“A few days later, Harris went before RAF film cameras and delivered a chilling, two-minute message, saying, ‘The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everybody else and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put that rather naive theory into operation.
“‘They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind. Cologne, Lubeck, Rostock—those are only just the beginning. We cannot send a thousand bombers at a time over Germany every time, as yet. But the time will come when we can do so.
“‘Let the Nazis take good note of the western horizon. There they will see a cloud as yet no bigger than a man’s hand. But behind that cloud lies the whole massive power of the United States of America. When the storm bursts over Germany, they will look back to the days of Lubeck and Rostock and Cologne as a man caught in the blasts of a hurricane looks back at the gentle [breezes] of last summer.
“‘It may take a year. It may take two. But for the Nazis, the writing is on the wall…’”(1)
And Harris was right. The bombings he spoke of came and decimated the Nazis. Likewise, the prayers and decrees of the church today are beginning to decimate the powers of darkness and will increase. We are winning the battle in the heavens!
When we, the church, work together in projects like America’s Big Ben Moment - A Minute to Win It, Clay Nash and his Josiah Company praying for the mid-term elections, Intercessors For America and their prayer alerts, and others, we are dropping millions of spiritual “bombs” on the powers of darkness. We’re the spiritual “Allied Forces,” raining down destruction on satan’s demonic forces with our air superiority.
Jesus made a profound announcement in Matthew 16:18-19:
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
The Passion Translation adds the phrase “my legislative assembly” after the word “church” in verse 18. Their very accurate explanation is that “The Greek word for ‘church’ is ekklesia and means ‘legislative assembly’ or ‘selected ones.’ This is not a religious term at all, but a political and governmental term used many times in classical Greek for a group of people who have been summoned and gathered together to govern the affairs of a city. For Jesus to use this term means He is giving the keys of governmental authority in His Kingdom to the church.”(2)
When Christ said He would build His Ekklesia, He wasn’t speaking of religious services, an organization, congregations, and certainly not of buildings. Not that those things aren’t good or useful. It’s just that to think of them as “the church” completely misses His point. Jesus was saying that His body, His bride, would also be His Kingdom’s legislative body on earth, operating in His authority to release His will and ways.
Pause and ask yourself how many Christians have been taught this. Satan has done a great job of hiding this truth from the body of Christ, which more often than not, doesn’t function as His Ekklesia, His church, only as fellowships or congregations. The attendees are worshippers, not warriors; lovers, but not legislators.
Jesus went on to say this Ekklesia would have His keys, His authority, to deal with the gates or government of hell operating in the invisible realm of the spirit (“heavenly places”). They would bind (deo) and loose (luo) satan’s forces, words which were not only used with physical connotations, but are also legal terms meaning to forbid and allow. Deo is used for “legally binding,”(3) and luo is used for “dissolving” or “voiding”(4) something that is legally or contractually binding.
The church, the Ekklesia, is Christ’s “air force,” authorized to rain down spiritual bombs “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). God actually said He would manifest His wisdom to principalities and powers in heavenly places through His Ekklesia (Ephesians 3:10).
This is now taking place. Many in the church have been made aware of what Jesus actually said in Matthew 16:18-19, and are now functioning as His Ekklesia.
I once heard the late, great pastor/teacher Jack Hayford say an aspect of prayer was “enforcing the victory of Calvary.” His point was that what Jesus accomplished on the Cross is not automatically released on earth, but occurs through the actions of the church, including His defeat of satan. Dr. Hayford was quick to point out that we don’t have to re-defeat satan, but we do have to enforce his defeat in Jesus’ name.
This is confirmed by the use of luo in 1 John 3:8. Remember, this is the Greek word for “loose,” in Matthew 16:19, but is also a legal term meaning to void or dissolve something legally binding. In 1 John 3:8, it is used to say “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy (luo) the works of the devil.”
But Jesus didn’t literally destroy satan or his works. He legally voided his hold on humanity and the earth, breaking satan’s headship over us, which is the meaning of Genesis 3:15. Jesus didn’t literally crush satan’s head at the Cross; He broke his “headship,” voiding his legal hold over us.
This must be received through faith in Christ and enforced in His name. The Scriptures state that Jesus luo’ed the works of the devil, but also that His Ekklesia would luo the works of the devil. We don’t re-defeat satan, but we do enforce his defeat. I’ll say more about this tomorrow.
Pray with me:
Father, the glorious Ekklesia/church You spoke of is arising. We are working together, allies in Your Kingdom, releasing truth bombs and declaration bombs as we enforce Christ’s victory of Calvary. Christ luo’ed satan’s hold over us, and we are enforcing that victory. You gave us air superiority, and we are using it to accomplish Your will.
Bless every prayer group and ministry with fresh revelation, insight regarding Your assignments for them, and renewed strength. Turn every 9pm prayer and decree into a fiery missile of destruction to satan’s plans for America. Guide every prayer and decree offered by the Josiah Company, regarding the midterms, straight to Your desired target. Continue to bless, encourage, and lead intercessors who partner with Intercessors For America, and every other prayer network in America.
We release decrees now over our government, declaring that evil, lawlessness, leftist ideals, and antichrist systems are being demolished. Leaders who oppose You and Your ways will continue to be exposed and defeated. We decree that human traffickers will be exposed and judged, murderers and rapists removed from our streets, and the mutilation of children will end.
We ask You now for a great revival here and around the world. Release wind from Heaven to fan the flames of revival. Dethrone evil leaders who oppose it. Show Yourself very strong in this hour, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that the Ekklesia is gaining momentum and becoming the spiritual “air force” God intended it to be.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
R. Scott and H.G. Liddell, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 206; J.H. Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 196; and Oskar Seyffert, A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, pp. 202-203.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 1210.
Ibid. ref. no. 3089.