Author

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Reviewed By Enimil Ashon, Editor, The Ghanaian Times

THE BOOK, SPIRITUAL WARFARE, convinces me that no one must attempt to call himself a minister of the gospel without formal training. Written by a theologian and researcher, the book exposes the danger of ignorance and the benefits of knowledge. It is authored by Apostle Dr. Opoku Onyinah (PhD, Birmingham University), immediate-past president of the Pentecost University College and now Chairman of The Church of Pentecost.

Very few books on religion have made such a profound impact on my life as Spiritual Warfare. It invokes the way I felt after reading three other ones, namely, Secular Humanism by Apostle Nana Anyani Buadum, and This Present Darkness by Frank Pereti. The third is by a non-Christian, actually an occultist, whose title is not important in the exercise on hand.

These three books caused me to consider the future of Christianity in the hands of shallow-level ministers who have taught and are teaching their congregations to believe in the bread-and-butter/get-me-visa type of Christianity, on the one hand, and placing “power” over knowledge, on the other.

Spiritual Warfare prepares Christians to trust only in God, to know who they are in Christ, and what their defenses are against the fiery darts of satanic forces. On the other hand, it also debunks certain popular concepts, jargons, fads and practices in modern-day Christianity. For instance, it questions the scriptural basis for the use of the “blood of Jesus” as a weapon. Apostle Dr. Opoku Onyinah would rather that Christians focus on the finished work of the blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary and the promises faith in the victorious Christ offers those who believe in the completed work of redemption.

Chapter 2 of the book discusses the levels of spiritual warfare, identifying two distinct levels: Ground-Level Warfare which deals with evil spirits that inhabit people, namely family or ancestral spirits, occult spirits and ordinary demons, and Strategic Level Warfare. This is further subdivided into territorial spirits which control nations, regions cities and tribes, and institutional spirits which are responsible for supervising and promoting special human engagements and vices such as prostitution, abortion, homosexuality, pornography and war, among others.

The author does not agree with some teachings on contemporary spiritual warfare which, he says, “give too much attention to Satan.” Dismissing some deliverance service practices, he asserts that “there is no example in the Bible of God’s people pulling down the princes of evil spirits over cities.” He emphasises: “It is not possible.” Apostle Dr. Onyinah also disagrees with such practices as repetitive and intensive prayer and imposition of fasting on the demon-possessed, noting that if anybody should fast, it is the exorcist.

Conceding that some misfortunes may be Satan-inspired, he observes that it amounts to lack of knowledge for Christians to conclude that all misfortunes are spiritually-inspired, and therefore demand deliverance. He cites biblical proof that God is occasionally presented as the source of misfortune and argues, though, that “suffering and death exist as an inevitable part of the world,” and as a result of Adam’s disobedience in the garden of Eden. To him, misfortune does not necessarily mean that the devil has attacked; nor does it mean that one has sinned.

The author proffers biblical argument that the Christian cannot be possessed by demons, though he nonetheless admits that a Christian may be harassed by evil spirits. He cautions:  “A conclusion on demonic activity or witchcraft possession should not be made hastily.”

Apostle Dr. Onyinah disagrees with other spiritual warfare advocates who spend hours, days or weeks fighting and casting out demons from people whereas, he says, Jesus drove out demons with a single command.

He also does not believe that there are demons responsible for poverty. He argues that to cast out a so-called demon of poverty is to ignore “other factors such as laziness, indiscipline and economic mismanagement” on the part of the afflicted person. He notes that by blaming demons for lack of progress in their villages, people compound the problem by “not putting up any more buildings in their hometowns.” This is food for thought for those in communities in Ghana where everybody who has attempted to build a place of residence seems to have died before the roofing level. 

If the author is not comfortable with some advocates of spiritual warfare, it is “because testimonies, rather than the Bible, have been the engine of this whole movement,” giving room for charlatans to deceive their followers.

Revelations in Chapter 3 will amaze the reader. From pages 81 through 143, the author hits his readers with waves upon waves of shocking disclosures that should leave them better Christians. No true Christian exposed to the amount of information contained in the pages would fail to appreciate the urgent need for intensified evangelism.

Chapter 5 points out the victory Christians have in Christ. As disciples of Jesus, he notes that Christians live in two worlds with Christ having already defeated Satan on the cross on their behalf. By this, he says Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God which is yet to be consummated because the present world has not passed away. The two ages  the present age and the age to come  therefore co-exist and Christians live in both ages, a situation that will continue until the second coming of Christ. The unfortunate thing is that the present age is dominated by Satan; hence, the temptations, the diseases, etc

The author quotes Ephesians 3: 6  12 to point out that joining Jews and Gentiles together in His church was God's plan from all eternity and that it has now been carried out through Christ Jesus the Lord. Because of this, both Jews and Gentiles can now come boldly before the throne of God, where Jesus is, seated far above all power and throne and authority and every name that is named. If everything has been placed under the feet of Jesus, then everything has been placed under the feet of ALL CHRISTIANS, no matter where they come from.

The author contends that many Christians have been prevented from knowing God’s provisions for them. The question is: by whom and in what ways? These questions are answered in Chapter 6. So when are exorcists and deliverance ministers to conclude that someone is demon-possessed? Answers to this abound in the book. Also available are 'Methods or Techniques of Deliverance Prayer.'

The author is against extracting public confessions from self-proclaimed witches or demon-possessed victims. Such confessions, he counsels, could put a social stigma on the victims. Confessions, if any, should be made privately. Another DON'T of the author is the chaining of victims and enforcing long periods of fasting and prayer on clients.

In Chapter 14, the author deals with 'The Weapons of Our Warfare' using the popular Ephesians 6: 10-13 as his point of reference. He acknowledges the presence of a battle, but says that this battle is between God and Satan and the battleground the believer's mind. The only way for the believer to prepare for this battle is to put on the whole armour of God so as to stand firm against all the strategies and tricks of the devil. He identifies these strategies and tricks as “ideas, beliefs, arguments and philosophies that make people disobedient to God and keep them from knowing Him” (2Cor. 10:3-6). He concludes that “the warfare here is therefore not a direct battle against the devil with human strength, but against the devil's strongholds of belief systems.”

The author makes reference to magicians on page 42, concluding that they are deceivers who do not have the powers they claim to have.

Spiritual Warfare is, therefore, a rich Christian resource that will completely change anyone going through its 277 pages. It is well written and bears the engaging style of a professional writer. The font sizes and style are very apt and typographic errors minimal. The well-thought-out cover design sums up the author's main pre-occupation in the book's pages  a warfare that cannot be won outside the word of God. Its perfect binding protects the book from coming apart, no matter how roughly it is handled