We are at War: What Atomic Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki Teach us about Spiritual Warfare

How the use of a dangerous Weapon can change a Nation's Mindset | Spiritual Warfare Series #Ep.01

Life is Warfare, not a Playfair — David Oyedepo

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America’s Atomic Bomb changed Japanese Decades-old Mindset

On Sunday, December 7, 1941, minutes before 8:00 am, Japan launched a devastating attack on the United States of America, known as the attack on Pearl Habour. Japan had earlier declared war on the US without the US knowing.

The attack was carried out by Japanese fighter aircraft, bomber aircraft, and torpedo bombers launched from 6 aircraft carriers (warships).

The attack destroyed 8 US Navy battleships, Cruisers, 3 Navy destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, a Minelayer, plus over 180 US aircraft.

The attack took Over 2000 American lives with about 1,100 others seriously injured.

As expected, America responded by declaring war on Japan the next day. This declaration marked the US official participation in World War II (1939 - 1945).

On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed Atomic Bomb (Little boy) over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion instantly killed over 80,000 people, with tens of thousands later dying of radiation exposure.

Three days later, another Atomic Bomb (Fat man) was deployed in Nagasaki killing about 40,000 people.

Emperor Hirohito, the Japanese Emperor at the time, had to announce Japan’s unconditional surrender, despite the fact that Surrender was forbidden in Japanese military ideology — Dying by Suicide rather than falling into enemy hands was the prevailing mindset.

In his 4-mins surrender address to the nation on August 15, the Emperor said:

"…The enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization…”

War is not glorious, particular when you consider the loss of human lives. But one key takeaway from this story is that the superiority of Weaponry can utterly reverse any radical ideology — military or otherwise.

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War and the Christian Soldier

There are several Metaphors used to describe the Christian occupation in the scriptures — Builder, Farmer, Runner, Fighter, and Soldier. In this post, I’ll explore the WAR dimension of the Christian occupation.

Some of our engagement here on earth, on behalf of Christ and the Kingdom of God, is described as WAR. We have been enlisted and we serve in a military campaign, as part of the army of the Kingdom of God.

We are the Human-facing agents of a raging brutal Spiritual War. A Warfare to re-establish the order of the Kingdom of God and to secure our own place in it. Actually, it is possible to preach to others who eventually make it into the Kingdom and the preacher is cast away.

Paul presented us with a Wartime Protocol in 2Tim 2:4. We are to endure hardness, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Because the protocol of this warfare requires that a praiseworthy soldier doesn’t mingle with the affairs of this life.

The Affairs (Greek: Pragmateia) of this life means — the transactions, negotiations, trade or occupation of this life. This includes what is measured on personal and corporate scorecards and by the economic indices of our time.

Let us not be mistaken. We must know that our God-given talents, gifts and abilities were given beyond adding to the corporate and financial goals of our companies or increasing the GDP of our nation.

When our vision is thus limited, we downgrade the severity of this War, and we may end up as ultimate losers — we can become very Rich and still not Reach the promised land.

This Warfare is waged against our Lives, our Future and our Eternity; it’s a battle for the fidelity of our Souls — it’s called the fight of Faith to lay hold on eternal life.

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For though we Walk in the Flesh, we do not WAR after the flesh.

We can dress up and go to a glass office every morning; work with teammates from around the world; have business lunches in five-star restaurants; attend high-profile corporate meetings all day; make killer presentations to win big clients etc. All of these do not negate the ongoing War.

Unfortunately, the strategy engaging in this Warfare is not found in textbooks or analysis reports from the Harvard business school or political ideologies from the Kennedy School of Government.

More miserably so, the weaponry required for this warfare cannot be imported from America, Russia, France, Germany and any of the other top 10 global arms exporters.

This Warfare is fought based on the instructions and prophecies that have gone out over a Subject or Object. Paul admonished Timothy, “…Fight this good warfare according to the prophecies previously made concerning you…”. (1Tim 1:18)

One of such prophecies states that the Kingdom of this World will become the Kingdom of our God and his Christ (Rev 11:15).

Therefore, we are on a Reclamation agenda of an illegally colonised region — Social, Economic, Political and Cultural; Spreading the good news of Peace, Joy and blessing to all humanity.

Just as Chris Delvan wrote in his song, this is a Holy Ghost-powered military campaign to make everything Obedient to God.

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The two main dimensions of this fierce Spiritual War are — Personal at the Individual level, which is Within, and at the Corporate level, which is External

The War within is raging really hard and there are unfortunately many war casualties already. Meanwhile, only those who have personal victories can achieve corporate success.

We engage this warfare within to defeat the Lusts that war within our members — warring within, against our soul, with the goal of keeping us in captivity, perpetual servitude and ultimately disconnected from God.

Casting crown’s song, Slow Fade, gets me sober anytime I remember or listen to it — particularly the line that says, “Daddies never crumble in a day, Families never crumble in a day, Churches never crumble in a day. Many individuals, families, churches, communities, and even nations have been destroyed by an individual’s Lust.

The reality of this internal warfare is confirmed by the following:

• Paul said, “I found another law within, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into Sin.” (Rom 7:23)

• Peter gave us a hint and warned, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1Pet 2:11).

• Later James affirms the same reality by asking, “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?” (James 4:1).

The external or corporate warfare is the one Paul described in Eph 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places

Jesus had told Peter, “Simon, Satan desired (literally demanding permission and could also mean a declaration of War) to sift you like wheat“. Thank God Jesus prayed for him, that his fidelity (Faith) will not fail, and Jesus added, “When you win this personal battle, you will become more relevant at the corporate level“.

We must strive to conquer or overcome first within at the personal level to be relevant and attain corporate victory.

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The enemy’s Warfare Strategy is to Build Strongholds from where he launches attacks to sponsor Disobedience to God

Satan's desire was to expose Peter’s weaknesses, that is, reveal points of vulnerability for access to build Strongholds from where Peter would be eventually destroyed by disobedience to God.

Peter later denied Jesus thrice.

The word Stronghold (Greek: Oxýrōma) means — a military stronghold such as a walled fortress, or a heavily-fortified containment. Strongholds are supposed to be impenetrable, just like the walls of Jericho.

The figurative use of “Strongholds” in 2Cor 10:4 connotes false arguments in which a person seeks shelter to escape the reality of the truth — a false argument that stems from a faulty thinking pattern based on lies and deception.

A Stronghold is a place from which Satan has a hold on people — they include wrong assumptions and conclusions about God and His word. Satan sets up his shop in Knowledge Gaps or Knowledge Inaccuracies, and uses them as advantage points for attacks — my people are destroyed of lack of Knowledge.

Satan used this strategy on Eve, “…has God said?”. He tried to use it on Jesus, “if you are the son of God, set up a stone-to-bread bakery right here in the wilderness“, later he said, “jump down, it is written he will give his angels charge over you“.

It worked on Eve. It didn’t work on Jesus. Jesus had a perfect understanding of what was written. Jesus later said, “…for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” — no Gap; no Error!

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The Weapons for waging this War are not Carnal, i.e. man-made or factory manufactured, but Mighty in God for pulling down Strongholds (2 Cor 10:4)

The weapon we engage are first ordained and then activated by the Power (Dunamis) of God to pull down Strongholds.

The word Pulling down (Greek: Kathairesis) means — a demolition, take-apart to destroy, raze down leaving nothing standing, to forcibly yank down. A violent and devastating takedown, regardless of how impregnable.

We saw how the walls of Jericho fell — the Israelite soldiers went up straight into the city; the takedown was smooth.

The Nuclear bomb is the closest man-made weapon that can be likened to an empowered Spiritual Weapon. Reports say that Nuclear weapons can lead to the extinction of mankind, this spiritually empowered weapon is that serious!

Such deployment of military might can reverse mindsets, and change the course of an individual’s or nation’s history, as it did to Japan — commanding absolute surrender and obedience to God and His will.

The summary is this:

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete
— 2 Cor 10:4-6

For the Kingdom of God is established, personally and corporately, not by mere WORDS, but by the demonstration of POWER.

💡So what is this Weapon and How is it Activated?
Stay tuned to the next Post in this Spiritual Warfare Series

— Azubuike ✌️