theBURNING : The Nero Spirit : Apostles & Intercession : Kingdom Advance

An important article on the violence of Satan, the need to cover apostles and effective Kingdom advance

Coming in September 2009: theBurning : A Prophetic School of Revival

Landing here in Michigan has resulted in a shock to some systems, ours included.  We are more aware than ever of Satan’s intent to destroy us and those who are apostolically advancing here.  The ‘maddening spirit’ prophecy that I gave a few months ago is more real to me than ever.  You can read about that here and here.

There’s a large segment of the Church that doesn’t acknowledge the need to engage in spiritual warfare.  Many presume action against the enemy equates with fear or a lack of understanding of our victory in Christ.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  In fact, it’s because of our victory and position in Christ that we have the confidence to fight!

Others presume Christians to be immune from demonic attack, and that Christ’s work on Calvary deems it unnecessary to battle any more.

This is key: The blood of Christ doesn’t grant us immunity, it empowers us!

Just as we wouldn’t show a maddened, psychotic, masked man who has invaded our home with plans to kill us and our family a gun and presume he will go quietly, we can’t simply mention the blood of Jesus to the enemy. We must apply the blood. We must fight covered in the blood.  We must battle from the position of victory that we have because of the blood of Christ.

As we advance the Kingdom of God here in Detroit, in Colorado Springs and in other cities through efforts like theBURNING (www.theburningschool.com), we must be very aware of the enemy’s schemes.  We are developing a solid team of warfare minded, prophetic intercessors who won’t simply ‘say a prayer’, but who will fight with fury!

In 2 Corinthians 2:11 the Apostle Paul said, “Satan must not be allowed to get the victory here, for we are not ignorant of his devices, schemes or battle plans.”

Honestly, it’s foolishness to presume that there is no fight when Satan is ripping people to shreds every day.  Babies are murdered legally.  Marriages are torn apart by divorce.  Pornography has invaded the homes and minds of most.  The homosexual agenda is winning the battle for the family.

Of course we must fight- and with great violence!

We must intercede if we presume to have any chance at victory at all.

A lifestyle of warfare prayer requires much… and when the church finds itself on its face for hours at a time, day after day, we’ll have the glimpse into the invisible, supernatural realm that will sober us, shake us and educate us in a moment on the need to fight demons with violence!

Here’s the article:

The Nero Spirit
www.roberthenderson.org

As we continue to progress into what Dr. C. Peter Wagner has referred to as the second apostolic age, we can expect the same spirits that attacked the first apostolic age to come at us. The purpose of both of these moves of God is the reformation of society through the establishment of the kingdom rule of God. This is what Jesus came to earth to accomplish. This can only occur through that which is apostolic. It takes apostolic authority, strategies, and power to see the kingdoms of this world begin to reflect the splendor of God’s kingdom. The devil will not just lay down and allow this to happen. He has plans and plots to resist and stop this ultimate purpose of God in the earth.

Without being aware of this fully, I suddenly had a dream and heard what I understood to be the schemes of the devil to thwart the effort of the Lord through His apostles to see the reforming of society take place. What I am about to share, I have never thought of before. It came as a complete revelation from the Lord to me. I believe it is an uncovering of the devil’s plans and also some wisdom for us on what to look for and somewhat what to do about it. It may help explain even what some are presently facing or will face in times to come. As with any true revelation of the Lord, there is a comfort in knowing that if the Lord is showing us these things, then we are on the right track in seeking to see a demonstration of God’s rule come to the seven mountains of society. The Lord will uncover the devil’s wiles and will give us wisdom in how to counter them.

In the dream I became aware of the Spirit of the Lord speaking to me.  He said that “apostles” are in nature militaristic.  The word apostle was first used in the Greek as a military term that referred to a commander of a fleet of naval ships.  The term’s denotation as well as its connotation was military – not religious. I was then told that this is why Nero persecuted the early church with such vengeance. Nero, the leader of the Roman Empire beginning in A.D. 55, understood that when this church led by “apostles” was coming to his empire that they were coming as an army representing another government called the kingdom of God. The clue for him was the term “apostle” as he recognized the significance of its meaning indicating a military threat. This is what I understood in the vision. The purpose of this “government” was to take over and reform the earth including Nero’s government and reign in Rome. This was very threatening to Nero, hence the persecution that he unleashed against this military institution called the church led by these commanders called “apostles”.

I then became aware that there is a releasing and arising of the spirit of Nero at this time to resist and fight against the apostles that God has and is positioning to bring reformation and establish the government of the kingdom of God in the earth. The purpose of this spirit is to stop the apostles from unveiling and implementing strategies that will result in the reformation of society through the establishing of kingdom rule in the 7 mountains of society.

This Nero spirit has several means of doing this. First and foremost this spirit is anti-christ at its core. Revelation 13:18 says that the number 666 is the number of a man. We have understood this to be the anti-christ spirit embodied in a man. It is known that the early church recognized that Nero’s name had a numerical value of 666. Nero was the anti-christ spirit manifesting itself in mortal flesh.

We must realize that this anti-christ spirit is going to arise with a new power to fight against the apostles and prophets and their effort to bring reformation and implement the government of God in the earth. There is going to be a persecution against anything that is apostolic that is after the reforming of society.

One of the attributes of this spirit was manifested in Nero through the murders that he ordered.  He diabolically persecuted and martyred many, many Christian in the most inhumane of ways. He used Christians as human torches in his garden at night as he hosted parties and gatherings. He covered them with animal skins and turned wild animals loose on them before crowds in the coliseum until they were torn to pieces and dismembered before the cheering people.

This spirit is very cruel and hurtful and will stop at nothing to stop the reforming work of God through the apostles. We must cover with the blood of Jesus those who are true apostles in this reformation and those joined to them. This includes family members, children, spouses and anyone that is dear to these apostolic leaders. This spirit will seek to physically hurt and even kill those that have this assignment on their lives. We are in a battle with the utmost at stake. Let’s gird up our loins and go for it with full abandonment.

Another trait that characterizes this spirit is betrayal. Nero actually poisoned his own mother and other close family members. Apostolic leaders and their prayer team must guard and cover themselves and the ones in which they have their trust. This spirit will seek to invade the closest of circles and put betrayal in the heart of those who are assigned to help the apostles in their effort of reformation. These circles of kingdom purpose must be guarded with a wise and strategic prayer base and also those who are with the apostles being aware of the target painted on their backs. We are warned of this spirit of betrayal in Micah 7:5-6:

Do not trust in a friend;

Do not put your confidence in a companion;

Guard the doors of your mouth

From her who lies in your bosom.

For son dishonors father,

Daughter rises against her mother,

Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.

This is not to say that we walk about with suspicion in our hearts, but rather that we stay on guard and encourage those who walk with us to do the same. We must endeavor to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3) Th3 passage in Micah continues in verses 7-8 declaring in regards to the betrayal targeting the leaders of this reformation:

Therefore I will look to the Lord;

I will wait for the God of my salvation;

My God will hear me.

Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;

When I fall, I will arise;

When I sit in darkness,

The Lord will be a light to me.

The Lord will support and fight against this spirit of betrayal. He will hear our cry as we seek to remove this spirit from our circles of apostolic life and ministry.

This spirit that drove Nero was also one of slander. When Rome burned in his reign, Nero blamed the Christians for the fire which released persecution on an unparalleled level against this group. This slander was designed to discredit and neutralize the affect of this move of God in culture. Paul encountered this in the Corinthian church when he was warring for his apostolic place in the house and that culture. II Corinthians 7:2 shows Paul seeking to battle this spirit of slander against him that was trying to stop his influence in culture:

Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.

The heart of this people had closed toward Paul as a result of this spirit of slander driven by an anti-christ spirit. It starts unfounded rumors and defames the character of those commissioned to lead the charge of reformation. We must take a stand in the spirit and dismantle this activity and function of this spirit. Any true apostolic leader assigned by God will encounter this devilish plot.

One final observation concerning this spirit is that it is full of perversion and sexual impurity. Nero was given over to all sorts of immoralities including incest, homosexuality, orgies and the like. Any apostolic person or team set for reformation must guard their heart and keep themselves free from this seductive spirit of sexual perversion. We know that this is one of the main realms that is used to bring down apostolic power resulting in reformation. This spirit of Nero will use these things against those who do not guard themselves and cause the apostolic authority to disintegrate from the inside out. We must be committed to a life of holiness, purity and blamelessness in these matters. The power of the Holy Spirit will empower us to live these kinds of lives of freedom so that we may be entrusted with what is necessary to see reformation born into the earth.

I am sure there are other aspects to this Nero spirit. These are just a few. I am convinced by the revelation of the Lord through His visitation that this is a spirit we must plan to counter and move against. It is one of the chief spirits that is being unleashed to counter the apostolic move of God to birth reformation. We must move against it with the plans of the Lord and take our military attack to the next levels. We will see the strategies of the Lord unveiled and reformation born in the earth. We are the army of God engaged against this Nero spirit and we will prevail.

Robert Henderson