THE SANBALLAT SPIRIT
We read about this
obscure person in Nehemiah, at the time when Nehemiah and others had returned
to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon to rebuild the temple.
Sanballat’s name in Hebrew was Sinuballat which had the root “Sin”,
the name of the Sumerian moon god “Sin”, worshipped 3000 years ago in
Mesopotamia, the modern day Iran. His name literally means “enemy in secret”.
So we see the darkness in this man. He was an enemy of the Jews
and opposed the rebuilding work of Nehemiah who was establishing God’s reform.
The history
here is a shadow of what is happening today under the same spirit that operated
in Sanballat, and this is what I ask Holy Spirit to reveal to us and make us
wise.
A short summary:
He scoffed at Nehemiah when he announced that he was going to
rebuild the temple walls
Nehemiah told him that he had no right in Jerusalem or in their
affairs
Sanballat was angry and addressed his army calling the Jews “these
feeble Jews”
Tobiah appeased Sanballat by saying that “a fox climbing on the wall would break it down”
Sanballat organized his forces to fight
He challenges Nehemiah 5 times to meet him for battle. Nehemiah ignored him
Nehemiah just kept at his work
Sanballat and his confederates tried to entrap Nehemiah in the temple but the scheme failed
Nehemiah found out that Eliashib the high priest had married a daughter of Sanballat and that he leased the temple store rooms to Tobiah, thus
depriving the Levites of their share of the offerings
Sanballat constructed a temple copy of the Jewish temple which
of course was false
So we can see here the work of satan against the work of God,
and there are similarities to this today.
Sanballat used the following 7 evil devices to trap Nehemiah:
Neh 2:10 Derision
Neh 4:1-8 Defiance
Neh 6:1-4 Distraction Neh 6:5-9 Defamation
Neh 6:16-19 Dissension
Neh 13:4-8 Debasement
Neh 6:1-4 Distraction Neh 6:5-9 Defamation
Neh 6:16-19 Dissension
Neh 13:4-8 Debasement
Sanballat and Tobiah used a false prophet to try to put fear and
compromise on Nehemiah, but he said “why should a
man such as me flee and be afraid”
He knew that the prophet was false because it went against God’s
Word!
This is what is needed of God’s people today beloved. To test
things against His Word. There is so much deception around today, and sadly
people just fall for it. I love the heart of Nehemiah who knew the Word and
that was his test.
Deception is one of satan’s greatest tools, and discernment is
needed to see it. Having seen it, the Nehemiah’s of today will name it and
reject it.
We are in a great Kingdom move of God on the earth today, and
satan is using deception to try and stop the Sons of God appearing. In Nehemiah
6:14, he turned the bunch of them over to The Lord.
I see the
following marks of the Sanballat spirit:
It is a wicked spirit sent to distract and deceive the “builders
of the walls”.
It tries to make you quit what God has called you to do.
It will involve many techniques but will major on deception
usually through false prophecy.
The deceivers at first will appear that they want to help, but
behind this deception is a spirit trying to stop what God has called you to.
It is a subtle, treacherous spirit.
It judges and accuses.
Nehemiah’s
response in Neh 6:3 was “I am obeying God, why should I be distracted by your
foolishness”.
The Sons of God in The Kingdom today, are called to “build the
Kingdom walls and gates” (see message “The Tower of Meah”). The Sanballat
spirit will try to distract and stop the Sonship Company from being born,
through deception. It will even create “false temples” to attract into false
moves of God.
We need to be aware of this. If you are called into Kingdom
purposes, then seek for discernment about teachers and so called prophets.
This spirit attacks the mind through deception and uses false
prophets. It will use mockery, insult and discouragement.
It will use accomplices (like Tobiah and Geshem) to make you
think that there is strength in numbers, so they must be right.
It will intimidate, make false accusations and be covered in
pride.
It is cunning. It will rub shoulders with you, break bread with
you, and appear to support you.
Behind it all is the one who deceived Eve in the garden into
thinking in her mind that the apple was good to eat.
We are warned about deception by Jesus and also apostle Paul.
Eph 5:6 “let no man
deceive you with empty words”
These are enough scriptures to warn us that deception will
abound on the earth. They are not just mere words, it is God almighty warning
us that there will be preachers and prophets with the seducing spirit of
Sanballat.
If Nehemiah were sitting in today’s churches he would be testing
the preachers against the Word of God. This is what “wall builders” do. But a
lot today are deceived into thinking that they cannot question these self-proclaiming
preachers. You have every biblical right to!
Have a good look into your church structure. Is it based on a
commercial pattern or based on the New Covenant body of believers? You may be
surprised. But that’s for another message.
Satan is a master deceiver and it is his main artillery against
God’s plans since Eden.
I believe that we are in God’s timeline of preparing His Sonship
Company of Melchizedek Priests. So satan’s strategy will be to try to deceive
those in this calling and to lead them astray. He cannot use any form of truth
to do this for there is no truth in him. He can only present counterfeit to
attract, and it works on the mind and flesh.
I am very alert to “taking heed” and letting “no man deceive me”.
Over the last couple of years I have observed a movement which I believe is worldwide,
and I must warn against it. In so doing, I honour Jesus as Saviour and Lord and
I acknowledge Him as all Truth and Life.
This movement goes under various identities, but generally promote
themselves as “Christian Mystics”.
My observation is that they use “new age brainwashing”. They
have tried to Christianize these practices, but I don’t find them in the Bible.
Their purpose is to open ancient doors into the mystical realm. To quote one Ian
Johnson – “Jesus is the mystical door”. Since when did Jesus become “mystical”
in the sense that they promote.
I believe that the Sanballat spirit is active in these preachers
and sadly I have seen many deceived. I have tried to warn some personally, but
have received bitter rebuke.
These are some of my observances:
The Name of Jesus is rarely mentioned if ever
They claim that they are NOT aligned with the New Age Movement. Why would they state that claim? The answer is simple – because they try to
divert the criticism. As a preacher, I have never stated that I’m not aligned with
it – because I’m not!
They speak continually of seeking personal “experiences” and “encounters”.
I never heard about seeking the Face of Jesus and coming into His full image.
The Bible is rarely used if ever.
They continually talk of the “Desert Fathers” and it seemed to
me that they build their movement on them. Well, who are these Desert Fathers?
You can Google them, but basically they were 3 catholic monks in the Middle
Ages who went into the African desert to “find the path to God”. They came
across some eastern Hindu heretic mystics who apparently showed them there are
many paths to God. Why would these Christian Mystics preach about this?
These Eastern Mystics used Buddhism/Hinduism practices and claim
that these lead you to God. Utter deception.
They promote the mantra as a tool. They promote that as long as
your desire is sincere, it can be a path to God. Utter deception.
They are soothsayers.
The
following are New Age principles present in their meetings:
Contemplative Spirituality.
“A belief system that uses mystical practices to induce altered
states of consciousness. This is rooted in mysticism and the occult, but
wrapped in Christian terminology. It uses mystical experiences. They promote
that God can be reached through subjective experience. It erodes the authority
of scripture.
I was in one of their meetings where we were told to pick up 2
sheets of paper under our seats. We were then to hold them in front of our face
and begin to imagine the Holy of Holies. With eyes closed and in this state of
imagery, we were to push our faces through the sheets and that we would enter
the Holy of Holies. People were calling out that they were seeing Jesus through
the paper.
This is imagery seeking experience.
This is a quote from a web site: “we come from a variety of
secular and religious backgrounds and seek to enrich our journey through
spiritual practice and ancient traditions. We desire to draw close to the “loving
spirit” that pervades all creation”. This is Pantheism (God is in all).
Taize Worship.
These are short chants repeated again and again, accompanied by heavy beat rhythm music. This is Contemplative Worship, and is a mark of their meetings. They attempt to connect with God through this chanting and mystical experience.
These are short chants repeated again and again, accompanied by heavy beat rhythm music. This is Contemplative Worship, and is a mark of their meetings. They attempt to connect with God through this chanting and mystical experience.
Contemplative Prayer.
Focuses on having a mystical experience with God. Mysticism is purely subjective, and doesn’t rely on truth. They seek experience not the Word. It copies eastern religious practices and new age cults.
Focuses on having a mystical experience with God. Mysticism is purely subjective, and doesn’t rely on truth. They seek experience not the Word. It copies eastern religious practices and new age cults.
Sozo.
This is another current mystical practice around today which I believe has its origin from the Bethel church in USA. It uses “image room” mysticism through a mild trance state.
This is another current mystical practice around today which I believe has its origin from the Bethel church in USA. It uses “image room” mysticism through a mild trance state.
Soaking Prayer.
This is a sitting or lying down state with music playing, waiting for God’s presence with some manifestation. You then soak in that presence. Again this copies eastern mysticism and has no Biblical support.
This is a sitting or lying down state with music playing, waiting for God’s presence with some manifestation. You then soak in that presence. Again this copies eastern mysticism and has no Biblical support.
Divination.
Contacting God or gaining spiritual experience through
departed ones. You may have seen pictures of people lying on graves to receive an anointing from the dead person.
Contacting God or gaining spiritual experience through
departed ones. You may have seen pictures of people lying on graves to receive an anointing from the dead person.
Shamanic Visualization.
This is an eastern practice which bridges the gap between the real and the imagery. It uses imagination and visualization. I have seen this continually in these meetings. It is a link to the spirit world. It activates the 6th sense through the pineal gland or 3rd eye. It is used in occult travel, trances and hypnosis. Shamans use spirit journeys to other realms of imagination. I have listened to these “Christian Mystics” testify to being in Heaven’s Court rooms….of talking with God face to face. One even said that God took him to another planet to have a look.
This is an eastern practice which bridges the gap between the real and the imagery. It uses imagination and visualization. I have seen this continually in these meetings. It is a link to the spirit world. It activates the 6th sense through the pineal gland or 3rd eye. It is used in occult travel, trances and hypnosis. Shamans use spirit journeys to other realms of imagination. I have listened to these “Christian Mystics” testify to being in Heaven’s Court rooms….of talking with God face to face. One even said that God took him to another planet to have a look.
Friends, I am purposely exposing what I believe to be a great
deception today, and it has taken many good Christian people captive. I really
believe that we are in the days of building the Kingdom walls, and satan the
father of deception is using deception and counterfeit to distract from the
truth and to lead people astray.
If you have been innocently involved in any of these practices,
I urge you to repent and remove yourself. Father God will deliver you through the
Blood of Jesus.
If you are involved as a preacher in “Christian Mysticism”, you
are deceived and deceiving. I urge you to repent and seek deliverance by the
Spirit of God.
We are in a vital day of God’s purposes friends, and my care is
that all falsehood be exposed along with the deceiving Sanballat spirit.
How to stop the Sanballat spirit:
§ Don’t come down from the
wall
§ Speak the Word
§ Ignore the insults
§ Remain steadfast
§ Encourage each other
§ Continue to build
§ Pray
§ Follow Jesus Word
It is Father’s desire that we come into the full image of Jesus
and this is achieved through seeking His Face and hearing the Spirit of God.
The only Worship is that which is in Spirit and Truth and the pattern of that
is in David’s Tabernacle.
I call the Name of Jesus over His Sons for Divine Wisdom and
protection.
Always for Jesus, Larry
