The school I attended, my university, Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly the University of Ife) was one of the most notorious in Africa! While an enviable institution because of its academic excellence, the incessant student unrest was a big drawback. Throughout my years at the university, we never missed a year without rioting; something just has to happen, and when things don’t calm down quickly enough, the Federal Government would step in and send us home!
So, it happened that there was unrest in my third year (1991) and everyone was sent home again. The only difference was that I was privileged to be living at the campus staff quarters, at Road 22 House 18, in the boys’ quarter of my uncle (Dr Omopariola) who was a senior lecturer in the school, so I did not need to travel far from my apartment to get to classrooms. This was about four or five kilometres away from the academic arena but within the same campus.
On this day, I was sitting in front of my room and reflecting on my walk with God; dissatisfied with myself, considering how to move my rollercoaster walk with God into a better one – my prayer life was down, I was seldom reading my Bible, I was jesting more than you could imagine, I was also starting to date a girl and the relationship was sucking my joy, don’t even mention my academics, as was also struggling at it.
All of a sudden, almost out of nowhere, a dark-coloured snake meandered its way towards me, very fast and aggressive in its slithering movement and spotting it as less than a metre away from my feet, I stood no chance to neither jump nor run from this menacing serpent; it was heading for me.
“The Lord rebuke you!” I yelled from the depth of my spirit. Those words were not pre-planned as I was not expecting such an event at all. Then the snake performed an instant U-turn and fled into the shrub of flowers. After it had turned, I jumped up and my adrenalin kicked in, my body tensed and my heartbeats doubled, you would have thought that I had just finished a 100-metre sprint with Usain Bolt!
I stood by my door’s entrance waiting and watching for the serpent to come out from where it was hiding; after some ten minutes of non-movement, I noticed there was a 5-metre bamboo stake nearby, picking it, I tried to disturb the snake from where it was hiding, it leapt out and ran again to another shrub. I backed off and ran back to my door again. The snake was about 120 centimetres long or slightly more.
Then something dawned on me, “Is this a voodoo snake?” “Was this snake meant to bite me because I was at a low level in my walk with God?” So many questions ran through my mind.
Considering my previous occult background, with the knowledge of the different dark magical arts of using poisonous snakes to fulfil destructive acts such as killing people.
I just went into my room and locked the door behind me. I got my Bible out, positioned myself on my knees and cried to the Lord in prayer. After about ninety minutes of earnest prayer with the theme, “Lord, this snake must die!” I cited to God reasons why the snake had to die.
I will mention two here: “In Psalm 91 verse 13, did You not say to me ‘You will put your foot on the lion and the snake; the young lion and the great snake will be crushed under your feet?’ [that was my first reason] When Moses stood before Pharoah and Jannes and Jambres withstood him, it was written that ‘For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.’ Let my rod, the words I speak now, become fire that will swallow this snake that came against me today [that was my second reason]…. .”
I prayed like that until I felt relaxed and at peace.
Later that day, I saw one of my neighbours, a Muslim, Karim (not real name), chauffeur to the Siemens Construction company executives that were living adjacent to me. and told him what had happened and that he should be careful.
Three days later, Karim, having trimmed the shrubs around the whole area, knocked on my door and asked me what type of snake I had seen previously, and I told him I didn’t know that type but that it was dark grey and slightly long. He asked me to repeat the story again and I did.
“So you spoke to it and it turned away?” he asked again.
“Yes, I spoke the Word of God, and it turned away,” I answered him.
“It’s sebe,” Karim said in the Yoruba dialect.
“What is sebe?” I asked.
“Cobra!” He said.
“How did you know that?” I queried.
“I found the cobra under the shrub – dead!” Pointing to the shrub where I informed him the snake had run. He continued, “From the way you described the event, the cobra should have stood on its neck to strike you, but it is so surprising that it just turned away from you. Cobras are not that easily frightened on their paths.”
“Well, this one did,” I said excitedly.
It was incredible! It was the first time I would hear of physical evidence of remotely dealing with the forces of darkness. It was even sweeter that the evidence was coming from a Muslim guy with whom I’ve had arguments about Christ in the past. From that day till I left the school, the man had utmost respect for me, even though he did not accept Jesus at the time, it never left him in doubt who was Lord over all things. That event took place a couple of years ago.
I have shared this event with you not because I want you to see me as some supreme Christ-believer, but because YOU can do the same with issues in your life as well, especially when you’re being harassed by the devil. Get on your knees with your Bible and fight back!
We are not to always lie down and cower in defeat nor become depressed because the Devil is assaulting us with his best shots. We are meant to resist first and then chase him back to his hell where he rightly belongs!”
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
That serpent fled after I resisted with the Word of God, but I also went after it and made sure I finished it off on my knees, too! Sorry animal lovers, I love animals but this one was going to have me for dinner. I am more convinced that that cobra saw the flaming sword of the Word I spoke (Heb 4:12). By the way, do you know where that same scripture I spoke to the cobra occurred?
“And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
“And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke you, O Satan; even the LORD that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
“Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.” (Zec 3:1-3)
Perhaps, the forces of darkness saw me wearing filthy garments soiled by prayerless, jesting, unforgiveness, evil thoughts etc, and decided it was the best time to strike. What a mistake! The cobra died!
Another key reason why I shared this story was to drive home a major truth: The Word of God is the most powerful force in the universe!
I should know, because while learning and using esoteric arts, all I did was use words, incantations and mantras to conjure fallen angels (I didn’t know at the time). The very dangerous rites usually involve you staying within a circle and also using the Bible – yes, that common Bible, to protect yourself from harm’s way. I would recite Psalm 91 for protection. This was necessary just in case the spirits got angry because you missed saying something or misbehaved in their presence. They could instantly kill the conjurer or cause him to become insane! But this Psalm was a protection from such.
At other times, I hear or see people using filthy words with forces of darkness, that is wrong! Have you forgotten that the devil invented cuss words and obscenities? He will be laughing at you if you use words from his vocabulary.
“Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil as he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you.” (Jude 1:9)
We are not to cuss or use abusive words in spiritual warfare, but only the fiery Word of God. Look at what it says, “For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12 KJV2000)
Hunted Becomes The Hunter!
How do you turn this Word in to your attacking weapon? Study and application. Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39) Paul puts it this way, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2Tim 2:15)
It is not enough to just be reading the Bible like a novel. You need to get it inside your soul. When it does, it actually becomes a living Person inside you, an invincible and indestructible personality. As you acquire more of it, it grows into a giant, even though you might look like a midget physically but spiritually you would be a ten-footer with ever bulging muscular physique!
Continually doing this will make you laugh at the devil at all times! See this small boy, David, a mere shepherd boy who has never been to where swords and shields of the mighty clash, making a boast before an army general. When Goliath charged at him, he ran towards Goliath! Only generals of war behave like that! Was it a 17-year old behaving arrogantly? No. It was the invincible and indestructible personality that has developed inside him in the bush.”
Thousands of years ago when warfare was fought with swords and shields the Word of God was likened to a sword, fire (Jer 5:14), and hammer (Jer 23:29). Take your pick! I would allude that it can be likened to bullets, grenades, and bombs in today’s advanced style of warfare.
The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the beginning of the ultimate battlefield. It was a day when events happened beyond imagination, yet it happened during a war where some extraordinary consequences were avoided. The history between Japan and America was changed forever! Here is an extract of events:
August 9, 1945. At 9:44 a.m., Bockscar, a B-29 carrying “Fat Man”, the world’s third atomic bomb, arrives at its primary target, Kokura. The city is covered in haze and smoke from an American bombing raid on a nearby city. Bockscar turns to its secondary target Nagasaki. At 11:02 a.m. the world’s third atomic bomb explosion devastates Nagasaki, the intense heat and blast indiscriminately slaughters its inhabitants.
August 15, 1945. Emperor Hirohito of Japan, in a radio broadcast to his nation, announces that Japan has lost the war. The Emperor’s announcement is hard to understand because he speaks in archaic court Japanese, but one fact is understood: “Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to damage is indeed incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives.” The New York
Times reports, “Russia’s entry into the Japanese war was the decisive factor in speeding its end and would have been so, even if no atomic bombs had been dropped, is the opinion of Major-General Claire Chennault ….”1
There are equivalents of this in the spiritual realm, too. Sometimes, the devil will batter a family so hard that repeat events continue to happen to each generation. For example, you may have someone who lost his family to alcoholism or experienced incest, and then you trace what happened to the parents, the grandparents, then the great-grandparents, etc. You may be shocked that they all went through the same thing. It is called the ancestral curse. Actually, a spiritual satanic bomb had been dropped in that family.
A neuroscientist recently discovered and made this comment about his family lineage: “One of his direct great-grandfathers, Thomas Cornell, was hanged in 1667 for murdering his mother. That line of Cornells produced seven other alleged murderers, including Lizzy Borden. “Cousin Lizzy,” as Fallon wryly calls her, was accused (and controversially acquitted) of killing her father and stepmother with an axe in Fall River, Mass., in 1882.” He decided to investigate further and discovered that his own brain was patterned in the same manner as his predecessors!2
Abraham at some point lied, Isaac his son got to the same point and lied, Jacob the grandson followed in the same manner, and the great-grandchildren did the same (Gen 12:13, Gen 26:6-7, Gen 27:22, Gen 37:32).
What shall I say of sexual immorality, perversions, murders, witchcraft, revelling, and so on? It is simply the effect of Satan’s atomic bomb working in that family or locale.
The same can be applied in your warfare against the devil. You can deal with a problem in your life, family or locale so much that no one will be able to commit that type of atrocity again. How? The Word of God will so much ravage the soul or environment that sin will struggle to survive in the place. The soul will start abiding by a new law called the law of the Spirit of life, which is in Christ (Rom 8:2).
Satan fears nothing more than the word of God because he knows the devastating effect it can have on his kingdom. When he fought Eve in the Garden of Eden, he won the battle because Eve did not use God’s Word she was using her opinions – your opinion is like using folded A4 paper as a sword against someone with a sub-machine gun. You will lose!
When you combine the Word of God with prayer and fasting, you’re creating a spiritual bomb and depending on how effective you are at handling the combination, you may be creating a spiritually devastating super bomb!”
Jesus, on the other hand, used the Word of God and it was Satan that was beaten and battered and the positive effect of his defeat is what humanity is basking in till today. Jesus caused such devastation to the Satanic world that He cried out, “Death where is your sting and grave where is your victory?”
You can cause the same problem for the devil and his kingdom today, too. Start from your own life. Start with those terrible habits such as lust, smoking, alcoholism, hatred, pride, etc. declare war against them. After that, take on negative issues in your life such as poverty, sickness, diseases, etc. You’ll be amazed at the efficacy of God’s word on those things!
1Hiroshima Bombing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
2Neuroscientist Uncovers A Dark Secret: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127888976
The final part: Advanced Spiritual Warfare – “Frustrating The Devil”
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Brother John, thanks so much for this, it’s awesoe!
brother John, just read this testimony and its quite an eye opener. God has shown me in a dream that there is a strongman in my life despite all of the doors that I have closed. I am asking God to show me what is causing this as I really want to be free as I truly want to receive all that God has for me. do you have any advice on this?
Dear Sister, God is only revealing what is there already. There must be an issue in your life, an area of your life your life, where you have some weakness or challenge; it could be a matter in your flesh (nature/character) such as pride, anger, overeating, lust, fear, sex in the dream, inferiority or superiority complex or such like – you will know. People may have mentioned it to you, but you disagree or cover it up and not want to admit to it. What the Lord has done to you is to make you realize that such thing is there and has a hold on you. It controls and manipulates you.
But, you must also know that you have been equipped to fight and overcome it! This is the temple within you. Look at what Jesus did in John 2:13-16. You must do the same! Do exactly what He did and the result will amaze you. For as long as you pretend that strongman is not there, he will continue to take advantage of you, but you must expel it.
Thank you for this expose of spiritual warfare. I like that you put in a testimony, nothing is better than a testimony to quite seal the teaching….an example is the best form of teaching in the spirit for christians who want to grow up into the likeness of Christ….His blood has cleansed us and it sets us apart from those who have not yet gotten to know Jesus yet.
@Marlene –
Thank you Marlene, you’re such a shinning light in the dark!
Brother John… thanks for sharing this awesome word …. it is definitely a message for the body of Christ… Blessings to you always…. Debbie
@Debbie – Thanks Debbie, you’re a shinning light in the darkness!
Brother John, I just had an encounter with a Philippine King Cobra today inside my house. I went to the CR and had jus stepped out of the door when I saw a cobra coiled with its neck already wide and standing just a few inches away from me and already in a “C” position ready to bite.. But it hesitated and I was able to turnaway.. minutes later, we hunted it and killed it with the help of some of my neighbors?
I want to ask you more about this event since I have encountered people who are using witchcraft against me.. Where could I send you a private message? Thank you so much for this post.
Regarding the cobra experience, irrespective of the source – witchcraft or not – God saved your life!
While I can’t confirm it is, but witchcraft is a possibility. When I was in Africa, and lived in a secondary school boarding house, we witnessed a couple, which the locals said were witchcraft influenced. Then I had some experiences with the children of a voodoo man who lived adjacent to our house, then my own direct unforgettable experience.
The most important thing is not the people sending the snake or scorpion or anything – not even the animal they may be sending. The most important thing is your own being. By that, I mean, are you secured? Do you live in a highly secured environment? No, I’m not talking about your physical house – I’m talking about your spiritual house.
You will see this being discussed in Job 1:9-10.
The guy was living in perfect security because he had a serious FEAR (reverence) of God, and Satan couldn’t touch him or ANYTHING that belonged to him.
Also see: Ecclesiastes 10:8
So, I ask again, is your house secured? If not, go and make peace with God and get your house secured, your spiritual security is far more important than any physical security.
I encourage you to read ALL my articles on Advanced Spiritual Warfare, starting from the oldest to the most recent: https://brotherjohn.org/revival/
Don’t worry about those who may have something against you. All you need to do on your part is “follow peace with ALL men and holiness with God,” (Hebrews 12:14).
If your “house” is secured, let the devil send all the most dangerous animals in the world, you would be as safe as the Hollow of His Hands. See – Deuteronomy 33:27 & Daniel 6:22.
God is your safety: https://brotherjohn.org/spiritual-warfare-the-invisible-bunker/
Do Not Live in fear – Fear has torment.