Let Visions of Glory Lead You to Victory!
Do we really understand this “Presence-and-Glory War” that is being fought all around us? A better way to approach this may be from an understanding of the atmosphere. According to the American Dictionary of the English Language, the atmosphere is the whole mass of fluid, consisting of air, aqueous and other vapors, that surrounds the earth. The word is rooted in the interaction between vapor and the earth’s sphere. Vapor consists of the fumes, moist floating substance or invisible elastic fluid that encompasses the earth’s sphere. The Bible even refers to this in Psalm 39:5 when it says, “Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.” Yet when most of us speak of “the atmosphere,” we’re referring to a generic sense of an airborne aura surrounding us.What does the atmosphere have to do with a war over God’s presence? In Glory Warfare, Becca Greenwood has captured much revelation to help you develop this crucial understanding. We have an atmosphere about us that affects the way the earth operates. The atmosphere we carry affects the land we walk on. The more we are in union with God and His purpose for the earth, the more we create a right atmosphere around us. To usher in God’s presence requires a change in the atmosphere, and we are assigned the task of bringing this about! The Bible establishes that satan is the god of this world, the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). Yet how is this so if Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness”? First, we must understand the terms used in those two verses. The Greek word for “earth” is topos, while the word for “world” is cosmos. This means that any structure that protrudes or is above the topos is subject to warfare. Second, we must realize the Bible establishes that there are three heavens. God and all His heavenly beings dwell in the third heaven. Satan, as the ruler of the air, attempts to rule from the second heaven to illegally legislate in the first heaven—that place where we physically stand above the earth.
God’s manifest presence must be free to rule any particular area of our lives necessary for the fullness of God’s destiny to manifest. Once evil is confronted in our atmosphere, then God’s presence has the liberty to replace evil with glory. Did you catch that? God’s desire is to flood this earth with His glory. Habakkuk 2:14 says, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The thing that prevents God’s glory from doing so is the evil in this world, and this is the essence of the presence-and-glory war. There is a fierce war that wages over occupying the atmosphere of this earth. Neighborhoods, cities, regions, nations, continents—each has atmospheric boundaries that have either been declared for the purposes of darkness or for housing God’s glory. If we read Habakkuk 2:14 with this understanding, we see that the Lord already has a plan to remove evil that is blocking His presence and glory from invading the entire earth realm. His Word declares that “the earth will be filled” (emphasis added), which means that the plan of fullness He has for the earth must be manifested.Becca Greenwood's book, Glory Warfare, is a wonderful read of practical examples and revelatory insights concerning the GLORY WAR that is raging around you. In the midst of our conflicts, we must never forget that God has a plan for our lives. Many times, darkness wants to rule through fear to stop us from entering into the ultimate plan the Lord has for us. We must never forget that His plan is good. We are familiar with the account in Jeremiah 32 in which God asked the prophet to stake his claim on the future by buying a field that was about to go into desolation. In the midst of all the darkness that was surrounding Jerusalem, Jeremiah prophesied that God would eventually restore Israel and Judah, and a remnant would be saved. If we stray from the Lord, He offers a way to bring us back and restore His plan for us. He has a future of prosperity for us. Jeremiah 31:23-33 says:
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’ And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me. “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant…Behold, the days are coming that I will make a new covenant…not according to the covenant I made with their fathers…but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel…I will put My law in their minds and write on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be My people” (NKJV).
Once Jeremiah staked his claim on the future, it really didn’t matter that there was darkness that would attempt to overcome his land—because God had a plan. If we trust Him in the midst of our warfare and obey Him to do the faith acts He requires of us, God will secure our future even in the midst of war. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know [do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand]” (AMPC). Because God has a great future for us, we can shout loudly and get His attention in the midst of our warfare so that He shows us things we could not normally see. In the midst of whatever haziness presents itself in the now, He will show us our future. Most of us are used to watching out for what we presently have and what is dear to us. But we must also watch after our future.
Glory Warfare helps you to understand the war over your future. This book builds faith! We can neither watch after or for the future if we do not have the presence of the Lord. It is His presence that allows us to see into our future. Sadly, many Christians get nervous when talking about seeing into the future. We give this the same stigma associated with fortune-tellers and palm readers. Let me say this as clearly as I know how: God’s people must have foresight! We must have vision for what lies ahead, or we will be unprepared. And in these times, preparation and readiness is essential. Glory Warfare will prepare you for the future. One of the primary reasons God allows us to see into the future is to keep hope of an expected end occurring in the midst of adversity around us. Another reason is for the benefit of the generations who are arising. We must prepare the way for God’s best in the lives of those who will follow. The Lord doesn’t give us glimpses just to titillate us or make us long for better days ahead. The vision of God—which we all need—always has a divine purpose. Yet another reason God supplies prophetic vision is simply for strategy. We cannot be victorious against the forces of darkness that rule our world without the precise, perfect plans of the Lord.You will learn much about this as you read this book. The enemy can only mimic the truth. This has always been the case. We find plenty of people in the Bible who were able to predict the future, yet they had aligned themselves with the enemy. How much more, then, is the God of all truth willing to reveal His plans for the future to His own children? Prophecy— which is simply the testimony of Jesus’ reign in the coming days—is all about vision. And in the presence of God, there is perfect vision. Habakkuk 2:1-4 says:
I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.” (NKJV).
When we live in the Spirit and see by the Spirit, we gain vision for our future. Not only does God reorder our time, but He positions us in a place so that He can extend the horizon line of heaven and cause us to “see” what He sees. This is what makes us a prophetic people. Acts 17:24-27 says:
God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us (NKJV).
When we are at the right place at the right time, the Lord “pro-horizons” us, or extends our horizon line so that we can see farther than ever before. We are not a people limited to the finite space that we are in. We are a people filled with vision. We can sense His presence, feel His presence, see His presence, and move in His presence.As I mentioned before, God has promised to cover the earth with His glory (see Hab. 2:14). I believe this was His original intent when He planted a Garden and gave it to the human race. He wanted us to cultivate that garden and live in communion with Him so that He could give us a vision of how to effectively invade the whole earth with His presence. However, when we listened to the enemy, our perfect communion was broken with God and our vision became hindered. The same principle applies today. If we adhere to the plans of satan rather than listening to God’s voice, we limit God’s presence from moving through us and increasing our boundaries. Because of this, there is a huge war raging over His presence. The enemy does all he can to prevent us from seeing what the Lord wants us to see. Satan longs for us not to have vision for our future. Remember, without a vision, we perish (see Prov. 29:18). Let vision arise within you as you read this book. See His glory! Enter your war ahead with a mind to triumph! Glory Warfare will build up your faith and help develop your thought processes of triumph in every conflict you face in days ahead.