By Carole J. Keller
The Jewish people were delivered from Egypt through the blood. The blood sprinkled on the doorposts of Israelites’ homes on the night of the Passover was the token of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 12:13). Demonic spirits (represented in false gods) were judged by the plagues, which tormented those under its curse in Egypt. The Egyptians (representing bondage) pursued the Jews in the great exodus, but they could do nothing because God had put a division, or a mark, between them and His children (Exodus 11:7).
The Egyptians were made impotent when confronted by the blood. God said to Israel, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13). It is important to note that the blood not only protected the people from death as a penalty for sin, but destroyed the power of the demons operating in the Egyptians to execute any further terror upon the people. Notice in the word: “…and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt… and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment…” (Exodus 12:12).
Pleading the Blood: Why, When and How
Why? When we plead the blood, it is like we are running for cover. We are entreating Jesus to protect, deliver and heal. The shedding of Jesus’ blood is the basis for our claim. So when we plead the blood we are reminding Satan that he is powerless over us when we are under the blood. It is a battle cry.
When? Whenever we are under a spiritual attack by Satan, in need of special protection, or are fearful. It becomes our banner, our sword, because the blood is only profitable to those, whose sins are covered by it. We are in covenant with a merciful God.
How? By speaking it forth by faith. Faith is the key. Jesus is our covering THROUGH FAITH IN THE BLOOD, who declares His righteousness for our sins which are past (Romans 3:25). In other words, He does not see the sin.
The Blood and the Word
After we are purged, something has to happen. Otherwise, we would quickly fall back into sin. That something is the planting of the Word, which has the power to free us from all bondage (James 1:21). We put away the old and put on the new by being renewed in knowledge (Colossians 3:10).
Along with prayer, God has given us two mighty weapons to conquer and to overcome: the BLOOD and the WORD: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelations 12:11). The “word” interpreted here is “logos,” meaning the wisdom and intelligence of God. (See John 1:1.) It was the “logos” spoken by Jesus (God manifested in the flesh) that caused the devil to retreat from Him in the wilderness (Matthew 4: 4, 7, 10). Jesus spoke forth the oracles of God to overcome the works of the devil, as it is written, “. . .he cast out the spirits with his word and healed all that were sick” (Matthew 8:16).
Jesus cast out spirits of demons oppressing the people, filling them with fear and condemnation, thoughts of death and suicide, and so forth. That same power is available to us whenever we might be likewise attacked. Because Jesus destroyed the works of the devil and his principalities and powers by His sacrifice on Calvary, demons flee when commanded to do so in the Name of Jesus. Why? Because when we speak the Name, we activate the power of the blood.
Consequently, we overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. We have authority in the Name of Jesus. We do it by activating the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). “Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). There is power in the spoken Word of God. And there is power in the blood.
Pleading the blood is used to release the grip of the devil, but then it must be followed by a command to do something in the Name of Jesus. The devil responds to commands from the Word of God. This is our faith. Jesus said, “For verily, I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23). This is why we need to have the Word inside us. We need to know the truth so that, when Satan attacks, we can inform him of his erroneous schemes, his deception. Then he will flee.
The Word says that we must resist the devil “steadfast in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9). When we are intimidated by the devil, just tell him to leave in the Name of Jesus, lest you crush him under your feet, as it is written, “Thou shall tread upon the lion and the adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet” (Psalm 91:13). Sometimes, the devil is the source of sudden physical pain, and we can tell him to go away, for it is written, “I shall not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday…There shall no evil befall me, neither shall any plague come nigh my dwelling, so in the name of Jesus, get out” (Psalm 91:5-6, 10). We can claim the protection of the blood, for “…with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
We must become knowledgeable in using these weapons of warfare. Even after deliverance, we must be careful to maintain our ground. We may be oppressed by the devil because we have yielded (consciously or unconsciously) an area of our lives to him, possibly through generational sins, such as rebellion, unforgiveness (Matthew 5:25-26), or we allowed bitterness to set in (Ephesians 4:26-27, Hebrews 12:15). But if we are careful to keep our conscience clean through confession of faults and reconciliation, we will have right standing with God. The devil loses his place to keep us bound.
Jesus Will Use the Same Weapons in the Final Battle Against Evil
Jesus did not upset the devil’s kingdom until the Cross. The devil knows Jesus Christ has won the victory over him and is dreading the end, for Jesus will return one day to destroy the devil and all evil from the earth. Jesus will be armed for battle (sitting on a white horse accompanied by the blood-washed believers) using the same two weapons He has given us:
“And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in (1) BLOOD: and his name is called, (2) THE WORD OF GOD…And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelations 19:13, 15).
Jesus’ garment is dipped in BLOOD, and on His forehead is written the name WORD OF GOD (Revelations 19:13). Thus, it is with these two weapons that He will fight the devil. All He has to do is speak forth the Word, and He will destroy nations “…he uttered his voice, the earth melted” (Psalm 46:6). In his book, The Power of the Blood, Maxwell Whyte states:
“It is not enough to believe in an historic Blood of Calvary. It is necessary that we believe in the foundation NOW, and by faith avail ourselves of its power and life. Love is only a word until it is demonstrated; and, in like manner, blood is only a word until it is used. Ammunition in an arsenal is useless. It must be taken and used to bring tenor to the enemy. The army of the Lord is powerless until it uses its weapons; these weapons are mighty to the bringing down of strongholds. They are the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and the blood, for we read in Revelations 12:11, ‘and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.’ We need the WORD and the BLOOD.”
There is one other message in this verse, and it is this, we, God’s Army, must be covered by the blood in order to victoriously engage in spiritual warfare. In whatever area of our lives our sins are uncovered by the blood through a lack of repentance, we give place to the devil and become his servants (Romans 6:16). This compromises our allegiance to God and weakens our power base to engage in warfare, because we are, albeit unknowingly, on the wrong side so to speak. A house—your spiritual house—divided cannot stand. Jesus said it this way:
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore, they shall be your judges. But I if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house” (Matthew 12:25-29).
We cannot have spiritual authority over the devil if we are living in rebellion against God. The devil knows and respects his enemies. When certain vagabond Jews attempted to exorcise an evil spirit in the Name of Jesus, the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you” (Acts 19:15)?
So, if you want to intimidate the devil, just mention the blood shed on Calvary, declare it to be your weapon, and back it up with the Word of God, which is your shield and buckler. He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence (Psalm 91:3-4). This is your faith, and it will become your victory, “For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Communing with God
In the Old Testament, the offering and sprinkling of the blood on the Mercy Seat by the High Priest caused the miraculous Shekinah glory of God to light up the darkened room of the Tabernacle. The High Priest then communed with God above the Mercy Seat. The way into the holiest continues to be the efficacious application of the blood to our sins. Then the Shekinah glory can dwell within our own mortal bodies, as we become the Tabernacle of God, replacing the Tabernacle made by hands (Hebrews 9:11). Stated another way, we can ascend into the Throne Room and become intimate with God.
Let us never underestimate the connection between the precious blood of Jesus and the freedom to approach the Throne of God. Such a love for sinners cannot be comprehended. Jesus now sits as the Kingly Priest in His intercessory role, having removed the veil that separated us from God. That veil was rent in two, forever establishing our right to petition God Himself, independently, and without invitation. Any time. He sits as our representative in heaven, as our advocate, dispensing forgiveness to all those who ask, through the blood, “For by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).
The blood of Jesus never stops flowing nor loses its power for those who have been consecrated to God. Unintentional sin is covered by the blood covenant. But when we go on to sin willfully, after having received knowledge of the truth, there is no coverage in the blood to deliver or protect, for “…there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins… Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:26, 29).
This, and this only, the blood of Jesus, entitles us to enter into His presence at any time and become partakers of His wisdom, power and glory. This was Jesus’ prayer, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me; be with me where l am; that they may behold my glory, which thou has given me …” (John 17:24).
This article “The Blood In Spiritual Warfare” by Carole J. Keller was excerpted from the book Free At Last. March 2011. It may be used for study & research purposes only.
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