NASA’s next generation Mars rover [1] is called “Perseverance” and is slated to arrive on the surface of Mars by February of 2021. Mars is 141.63 million miles away from the earth and so the distance to Mars makes getting a rover to the planet and piloting the rover on the surface of Mars challenging. Engineers from NASA say there is roughly a 22 minute delay in the signal between the earth and Mars. Due to this length of time of delay, there is a significant amount of planning that must be accomplished before mission commands are sent to the rover.
References
- J. N. Maki, D. Gruel, S. Algermissen, “The Mars 2020 Engineering Cameras and Microphone on the Perseverance Rover: A Next-Generation Imaging System for Mars Exploration,” Space Science Reviews volume 216, Article number: 137 (2020), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-020-00765-9
The current rover on Mars is called “Curiosity” and this rover only receives commands from the Earth once per day and is on its own the remainder of the time. The question that we ask is how do the researchers successfully pilot the rover if it is only getting commands once a day? The rover is equipped with 3D-cameras which allow the engineers to view all of the surroundings. The programmers designed the rover to be able to automate tasks, such as analyzing rocks and soil composition. When the rover gets stuck, it awaits instructions on what to do. Using the 3D cameras, the engineers create a virtual image of the rover’s surroundings. In this way the engineers are able to spot hazardous terrain to avoid. There are two driving modes that are programmed into the system. One is the blind driving mode and the other is visual odometry mode. During the blind driving mode, the rover follows the instructions explicitly and does not make adjustments based on the actual distance traveled. The other method, visual odometry mode, is said to be the most common driving mode used in which the rover takes pictures and compares them to previous pictures to analyze how it is doing where it has moved, and how the terrain has changed. There is a third driving mode which is called “autonav” which functions similar to the self driving vehicles we have today on Earth. In this mode, the rover can travel only one hundred feet per hour. In this mode, the rover takes 3D images and is able to map the safest route to travel. In February 2021, the rover will begin its task of exploring the red planet. The biggest risk the Perseverance has in February is the descent and landing phase in which there is opportunity for catastrophic failure. This new rover will be capable of driving twice as fast as the current rover (Curiosity). This is due to improvements in the construction of the computer hardware and there being a new dedicated computing system that allows for more efficient algorithms and program execution speeds. Perseverance’s navigation cameras are also in color and have a higher resolution than Curiosity does.
When we lay the scientific research down alongside of Scripture, the Spiritual Insights that we receive is related to the limitation of the time constraint due to the distance of the rover and Mars from earth. The idea of remote control was something that the Scriptures draw out according to the book of Revelation, chapter 16. Let’s have a look at what these Scriptures say:
ההתגלות טז
שָׁמַעְתִּי קוֹל גָּדוֹל מִן הַהֵיכָל אוֹמֵר לְשִׁבְעַת הַמַּלְאָכִים: “לְכוּ וְשִׁפְכוּ עַל הָאָרֶץ אֶת שֶׁבַע קַעֲרוֹת זַעַם אֱלֹהִים.” 2הָלַךְ הָרִאשׁוֹן וְשָׁפַךְ אֶת קַעֲרָתוֹ עַל הָאָרֶץ, וְנִתְהַוָּה שְׁחִין רַע וּמַכְאִיב בַּאֲנָשִׁים הַנּוֹשְׂאִים אֶת תַּו הַחַיָּה וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לְצַלְמָהּ. 3שָׁפַךְ הַשֵּׁנִי אֶת קַעֲרָתוֹ עַל הַיָּם וְהַיָּם נֶהְפַּךְ לְדָם כְּדָמוֹ שֶׁל מֵת, וְכָל נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה אֲשֶׁר בַּיָּם מֵתָה. 4שָׁפַךְ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי אֶת קַעֲרָתוֹ בַּנְּהָרוֹת וּבְמַעַיְנוֹת הַמַּיִם, וְנִהְיוּ לְדָם. 5שָׁמַעְתִּי אֶת מַלְאַךְ הַמַּיִם אוֹמֵר: “צַדִּיק אַתָּה הַהֺוֶה וְהָיָה, הַקָּדוֹשׁ – שֶׁכָּךְ שָׁפַטְתָּ; 6כִּי דַּם קְדוֹשִׁים וּנְבִיאִים שָׁפְכוּ, וְדָם נָתַתָּ לָהֶם לִשְׁתּוֹת; רְאוּיִים הֵם.” 7וְשָׁמַעְתִּי אֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אוֹמֵר: “כֵּן, יהוה אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת, אֱמֶת וְצֶדֶק מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ.”8שָׁפַךְ הָרְבִיעִי אֶת קַעֲרָתוֹ עַל הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְהֻתַּר לוֹ לִצְרֺב אֶת הָאֲנָשִׁים בָּאֵשׁ. 9נִצְרְבוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים בְּחֺם גָּדוֹל וְגִדְּפוּ אֶת שֵׁם אֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר לוֹ הַשִּׁלְטוֹן עַל הַמַּכּוֹת הָאֵלֶּה, וְלֹא חָזְרוּ בִּתְשׁוּבָה לָתֵת לוֹ כָּבוֹד. 10הַחֲמִישִׁי שָׁפַךְ אֶת קַעֲרָתוֹ עַל כִּסֵּא הַחַיָּה וְחָשְׁכָה מַלְכוּתָהּ. הֵם נָשְׁכוּ אֶת לְשׁוֹנָם מִכְּאֵב 11וְגִדְּפוּ אֶת אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּכְאוֹבָם וּשְׁחִינָם, וְלֹא שָׁבוּ מִמַּעֲשֵׂיהֶם. 12הַשִּׁשִּׁי שָׁפַךְ אֶת קַעֲרָתוֹ עַל הַנָּהָר הַגָּדוֹל, נְהַר פְּרָת, וּמֵימָיו יָבְשׁוּ כְּדֵי לְהָכִין אֶת הַדֶּרֶךְ שֶׁל הַמְּלָכִים מִמִּזְרַח שֶׁמֶשׁ. 13רָאִיתִי מִפִּי הַתַּנִּין וּמִפִּי הַחַיָּה וּמִפִּי נְבִיא הַשֶּׁקֶר שָׁלֹשׁ רוּחוֹת טְמֵאוֹת דּוֹמוֹת לִצְפַרְדְּעִים 14 – כִּי הֵן רוּחוֹת שֶׁל שֵׁדִים עוֹשֵׂי אוֹתוֹת – וְהֵן יוֹצְאוֹת אֶל מַלְכֵי הָאָרֶץ כֻּלָּהּ לֶאֱסֺף אוֹתָם לְמִלְחֶמֶת הַיּוֹם הַגָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר לֵאלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת. 15הִנְנִי בָּא כְּגַנָּב. אַשְׁרֵי הַשּׁוֹקֵד וְשׁוֹמֵר אֶת בְּגָדָיו, פֶּן יֵלֵךְ עָרוֹם וְיִרְאוּ אֶת עֶרְוָתוֹ. 16וְהוּא אָסַף אוֹתָם אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הַנִּקְרָא בְּעִבְרִית הַר מְגִדּוֹן.
Revelation 16:1-16
16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.’ 16:2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image. 16:3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died. 16:4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, ‘Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; 16:6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.’ 16:7 And I heard the altar saying, ‘Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.’ 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. 16:9 Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. 16:10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, 16:11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds. 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. 16:13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 16:14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 16:15 (‘Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.’) 16:16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. (NASB)
The interesting point that is being drawn out here in Revelation 16 is in regards to what the text states in Revelation 16:13-14, רָאִיתִי מִפִּי הַתַּנִּין וּמִפִּי הַחַיָּה וּמִפִּי נְבִיא הַשֶּׁקֶר שָׁלֹשׁ רוּחוֹת טְמֵאוֹת דּוֹמוֹת לִצְפַרְדְּעִים – כִּי הֵן רוּחוֹת שֶׁל שֵׁדִים עוֹשֵׂי אוֹתוֹת – וְהֵן יוֹצְאוֹת אֶל מַלְכֵי הָאָרֶץ כֻּלָּהּ לֶאֱסֺף אוֹתָם לְמִלְחֶמֶת הַיּוֹם הַגָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר לֵאלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת. Note how John describes what comes out of the mouth of the dragon (הַתַּנִּין), the beast (הַחַיָּה), and the false prophet (נְבִיא הַשֶּׁקֶר). What comes out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet are three רוּחוֹת טְמֵאוֹת (unclean spirits). Now I have read these verses before many times, however when we lay the scientific research down alongside of Scripture, there are new things that are drawn out, as this week’s science news deals with the remote control of a rover on Mars millions of miles away, and what we are seeing here, demons appear to be the beings that are functioning as a remote control of a sort. As we consider what Revelation 16 is saying, it makes sense that demons would come from the false prophet and the beast. But what is surprising is how the dragon also is described as having one of the רוּחוֹת טְמֵאוֹת. The reason this is so surprising is because, earlier in Revelation the dragon is described as the Satan (the deceiver of nations) and as the נחש (the Serpent) and the one who made war in heaven and was cast down out of heaven to earth. The dragon / serpent / satan here in Revelation 16 is described as also having a demon inside working miracles and manipulating the dragon.
We also note the context in Revelation reading from chapter 14 to 19, the great prostitute who caused the nations to drink of the wine of both her adultery and her idolatry. We see Babylon (Revelation 14) pictured as a prostitute, her dealings with all the nations consists in her dispensing a rich brew of illicit pleasures which intoxicate and seduce the nations (see Jeremiah 51:7). The angelic announcement is about God’s termination of the great city Babylon and termination of its sexual and idolatrous trade with the nations. Notice in Jeremiah Babylon is described as a golden cup that was poured out to the nations and the nations have gone mad. Notice in the most recent USA – COVID relief package, the billions of dollars being sent to other nations such as Pakistan for gender studies in LGBTQ connected to sexual preference, etc. This is the very thing that is being described here in the prophetic texts, the nations going mad and being made to drink of this madness by way of the love of money. This is why we read in the History of Israel and the rabbinic literature so often how idolatry, adultery, and sexual sin as all being connected and here the book of Revelation is consistent with these things. As a result of this, idolatry draws in the concept of demonic entities operating in the background, by what is being illustrated in the three רוּחוֹת טְמֵאוֹת proceeding from the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. It is interesting to read how demons have had an influence upon mankind based upon the book of Enoch. We note how these taught man to make war, to fornicate, and to perform witchcraft. These are the fallen angels who are kept in chains in gloomy darkness as Jude mentions according to the NT. (See the book of Jude)
Enoch 8:1-10:8
8.1 And Azazel taught men to make swords, and daggers, and shields, and breastplates. And he showed them the things after these, and the art of making them; bracelets and ornaments, and the art of making up the eyes, and of beautifying the eyelids, and the most precious and choice stones, and all kinds of coloured dyes. And the world was changed. 8.2 And there was great impiety, and much fornication, and they went astray, and all their ways became corrupt. 8.3 Amezarak taught all those who cast spells and cut roots, Armaros the release of spells, and Baraqiel astrologers, and Kokabiel portents, and Tamiel taught astrology, and Asradel taught the path of the Moon. 8.4 And, at the destruction on the Earth, men cried out, and their voices reached Heaven. 9.1 And then Michael, Gabriel, Suriel and Uriel, looked down from Heaven, and saw the mass of blood that was being shed on the Earth, and all the iniquity that was being done on the Earth. 9.2 And they said to one another: “Let the devastated Earth cry out with the sound of their cries unto the Gate of Heaven. 9.3 And now, to you, O Holy Ones of Heaven, the souls of men complain, saying: “Bring our complaint before the Most High.” 9.4 And they said to their Lord, the King: “Lord of Lords, God of Gods, King of Kings! Your glorious throne endures for all the generations of the world, and Your Name is Holy and praised for all generations of the world, and is blessed and praised! 9.5 You have made everything, and power over everything is Yours. And everything is uncovered, and open, in front of You, and You see everything, and there is nothing that can be hidden from You. 9.6 See then what Azazel has done; how he has taught all iniquity, on the Earth, and revealed the Eternal Secrets which were made in Heaven. 9.7 And Semyaza has made known spells, he to whom You gave authority to rule over those who are with him. 9.8 And they went into the daughters of men together, lay with those women, became unclean, and revealed to them these sins. 9.9 And the women bore giants, and thereby the whole Earth has been filled with blood and iniquity. 9.10 And now behold, the souls which have died, cry out and complain, unto the Gate of Heaven, and their lament has ascended, and they cannot go out in the face of the iniquity which is being committed on the Earth. 9.11 And You know everything, before it happens, and You know this, and what concerns each of them. But You say nothing to us. What ought we to do with them, about this?” 10.1 And then the Most High, the Great and Holy One, spoke, and sent Arsyalalyur to the son of Lamech, and said to him: 10.2 “Say to him, in My Name; hide yourself! And reveal to him the end, which is coming, because the whole Earth will be destroyed. A deluge is about to come on all the Earth; and what is in it will be destroyed. 10.3 And now teach him, so that he may escape, and his offspring may survive for the whole Earth.” 10.4 “And further”, the Lord said to Raphael, “Bind Azazel by his hands and his feet and throw him into the darkness. And split open the desert, which is in Dudael, and throw him there. 10.5 And, throw on him jagged and sharp stones, and cover him with darkness. And let him stay there for ever. And cover his face so that he may not see the light. 10.6 And so that, on the Great Day of Judgement, he may be hurled into the fire. 10.7 And restore the Earth which the Angels have ruined. And announce the restoration of the Earth. For I shall restore the Earth, so that not all the sons of men shall be destroyed, through the mystery of everything which the Watchers made known, and taught to their sons. 10.8 And the whole Earth has been ruined by the teaching of the works of Azazel; and against him write: ALL SIN.”
We note from the Torah the Azazel (scapegoat) was part of the Yom Kippur ritual. (Vayikra / Leviticus 16) The sins of the entire nation, “all sin” was placed upon the goat and it was driven into the wilderness, a place of serpents and demons, symbolically sending the sins which were taught by fallen angels back to the fallen angels. Another interesting passage from Enoch (6:1-7:6) also speaks to something we read according to the NT and Yeshua the Messiah.
Enoch 6:1-7:6
6.1 And it came to pass, when the sons of men had increased, that in those days there were born to them fair and beautiful daughters. 6.2 And the Angels, the sons of Heaven, saw them and desired them. And they said to one another: “Come, let us choose for ourselves wives, from the children of men, and let us beget, for ourselves, children.” 6.3 And Semyaza, who was their leader, said to them: “I fear that you may not wish this deed to be done, and that I alone will pay for this great sin.” 6.4 And they all answered him, and said: “Let us all swear an oath, and bind one another with curses, so not to alter this plan, but to carry out this plan effectively.” 6.5 Then, they all swore together, and all bound one another, with curses, to it. 6.6 And they were, in all, two hundred, and they came down on Ardis, which is the summit of Mount Hermon. And they called the mountain Hermon, because on it they swore, and bound one another with curses. 6.7 And these are the names of their leaders: Semyaza, who was their leader, Urakiba, Ramiel, Kokabiel, Tamiel, Ramiel, Daniel, Ezeqiel, Baraqiel, Asael, Armaros, Batriel, Ananel, Zaqiel, Samsiel, Sartael, Turiel, Yomiel, Araziel. 6.8 These are the leaders of the two hundred Angels, and of all the others with them. 7.1 And they took wives for themselves, and everyone chose for himself, one each. And, they began to go into them, and were promiscuous with them. And they taught them charms, and spells, and they showed them the cutting of roots and trees. 7.2 And they became pregnant and bore large giants. And their height was three thousand cubits. 7.3 These, devoured all the toil of men, until men were unable to sustain them. 7.4 And the giants turned against them in order to devour men. 7.5 And they began to sin against birds, and against animals, and against reptiles, and against fish, and they devoured one another’s flesh, and drank the blood from it. 7.6 Then the Earth complained about the lawless ones.
The significant point here is the demons descended on Mount Hermon. What is so significant about Mount Hermon? This reminds us of the transfiguration of Yeshua and the appearance of both Moshe and Elijah. Now some scholars have traditionally thought it was Mount Tabor and not Mount Hermon that Yeshua ascended. Mount Tabor (575 metres or 1,886 feet high) is the traditional location. The earliest identification of the Mount of Transfiguration as Tabor is by Origen in the 3rd century. It is also mentioned by St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Jerome in the 4th century. The Church of the Transfiguration is located on top of Mount Tabor. It is later mentioned in the 5th century Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis. Additionally, the highest summit on Mount Tabor is referenced as the place of the Transfiguration according to the Mystical City of God by Maria of Agreda, who writes: “For his Transfiguration He selected a high mountain in the center of Galilee, two leagues east of Nazareth and called Mount Tabor.” Mount Hermon (2814 metres or 9,232 feet high) which is a lot higher is suggested as the actual place of the transfiguration by R. H. Fuller and J. Lightfoot for two reasons, (i) It is the highest in the area where the Scriptures state the Transfiguration took place on “an high mountain” (Matthew 17:1), and (ii) it is located near Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13), where the previous events in Matthew reportedly took place. As we read the account from Matthew on the transfiguration, we should ask ourselves why choose this location? Note the connection to what we read according to the book of Enoch, Mount Hermon as being the place the fallen angels descended from heaven. This is coupled to Yeshua telling his disciples that “the Son of Man” (Bar Enosh) must die. Yeshua was making a show of who he was and what he was about to do (lay his life down for our sins) upon the very mountain which the רוּחוֹת טְמֵאוֹת taught all of mankind to sin. Yeshua was making a show of who he was right there upon the mountain as the son of the Living God!
According to Revelation 16-17, the beast is connected to the harlot, sexual sin, idolatry, adultery, etc. These רוּחוֹת טְמֵאוֹת described as being in the shape or form of frogs is interesting in itself. At this time we are nearing the Torah reading from Parashat Va’era describing the plagues of Egypt, and we note the second plague on Egypt was that of frogs. The Egyptian god Heqet was represented as a frog. To the Egyptians, the frog was an ancient symbol of fertility. Notice how the Egyptian religion shows the connection of these things related to idolatry, sexual sin, and demonic entities. The way the dragon is described as also having one of the רוּחוֹת טְמֵאוֹת is revealing to us what the Scientific research is drawing out for us today on remote control and demonic influences. The story of the serpent in the garden (Bereshit / Genesis 3), it is believed this serpent also had an evil spirit, in similar fashion, and yet the serpent was held responsible and was cursed to crawl on the ground. The Torah doesn’t specifically discuss the issue of demons as we read in the case of the Serpent, but Moshe does mention demons in Devarim / Deuteronomy 32.17 יִזְבְּח֗וּ לַשֵּׁדִים֙ speaking of the altars of demons. We also note how the rabbis speak of Eve having intercourse with the serpent. (See the Talmud Sota 9b) In addition to these things, Rashi one Devarim / Deuteronomy 32.17 also interestingly connects this back to Bereshit / Genesis 3.15, where there is a Messianic expectation of the Messiah overcoming the Serpent. It is interesting how all of Scripture ties back to what we read according to Revelation 17 and the forces of darkness that are at work in this world to deceive and manipulate men. We read according to Revelation 17:14 the following, הֵם יִלָּחֲמוּ בַּשֶּׂה וְהַשֶּׂה יְנַצֵּחַ אוֹתָם מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא אֲדוֹן הָאֲדוֹנִים וּמֶלֶךְ הַמְּלָכִים, וְאִתּוֹ גַּם הַקְּרוּאִים וְנִבְחָרִים וְנֶאֱמָנִים. The text states הֵם יִלָּחֲמוּ בַּשֶּׂה “they made war with the lamb,” וְהַשֶּׂה יְנַצֵּחַ אוֹתָם מִפְּנֵי “and the lamb overcame them,” שֶׁהוּא אֲדוֹן הָאֲדוֹנִים וּמֶלֶךְ הַמְּלָכִים “because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings,” וְאִתּוֹ גַּם הַקְּרוּאִים וְנִבְחָרִים וְנֶאֱמָנִים “and also with him are the called ones, the chosen, the faithful.” The text declares victory over the forces of darkness, Yeshua the Messiah of God has victory over the Devil / Dragon / Serpent / Satan (the deceiver)! Notice how demons are always associated with sexual sin, idolatry, murder, witchcraft, etc. The Lord God Almighty and His Messiah Yeshua on the other hand are for righteousness, holiness, ethics, morals, justice, and truth!
When we lay the scientific research down alongside of Scripture, this helps to facilitate drawing out certain truths found in the Scriptures. This week’s Science news deals with NASA’s next generation Mars rover [1] called “Perseverance” and how NASA scientists control the rover being so far away (millions of miles) The Spiritual Insights that we receive from this method of research is related to this feature of remote control. The idea of remote control was something that the Scriptures draw out according to the book of Revelation, chapter 16 in relation to the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. Out of each of these come שָׁלֹשׁ רוּחוֹת טְמֵאוֹת “three evil spirits” (Revelation 16:13) and these are said to be כִּי הֵן רוּחוֹת שֶׁל שֵׁדִים עוֹשֵׂי אוֹתוֹת – וְהֵן יוֹצְאוֹת אֶל מַלְכֵי הָאָרֶץ כֻּלָּהּ לֶאֱסֺף אוֹתָם לְמִלְחֶמֶת הַיּוֹם הַגָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר לֵאלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת. 16:14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (NASB) The descriptions given to us in Revelation and all of Scripture reveals to us how evil spirits function in such a way as to keep us unaware of their presence. In some circumstances however, their presence is known, but this is more rare. The goal of demonic entities is to prevent one from receiving the salvation of God. This is illustrated in Revelation 16:14 which states that they function as performing signs and wonders going to the kings of the world to gather them against God in heaven. If this method fails, demonic entities work to prevent one from maturing in their faith, and being used for the glory of God and for His kingdom. Their purpose is to make us ineffective and their chief strategy is to turn people away from God, to not have faith and not be faithful. According to Revelation 17:14 we have victory in the Lamb of God, Yeshua the Messiah! Paul warns us of the last days according to 1 Timothy 4 saying, “Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.” The evil one wants to place a stronghold in our lives where he can operate. In Yeshua however we can be delivered and set free and find true joy, happiness, and victory over the demonic influences no matter how deeply entrained they are in our lives! In Yeshua we gain power over the spiritual forces, and because of our faith in him, the unclean spirits attempt to discourage us, get us angry because of sin and bondage and slow down our spiritual journey as we grow closer to the Lord God in heaven. These things illustrate why immersing ourselves in the Word of God (the Bible) daily reading from Scripture, and prayer, and fasting are so important for our lives. The Lord God wants victory for our lives, and we are told according to the NT text this is accomplished by being called ones, chosen, faithful to the Lamb of God (Yeshua). We are to believe in what He has done, and live our lives according to His Torah and by these things, the Lord God Almighty will grant us His mercy such that we will have faith, we will live faithful, and we will be able to persevere through the victory of the Messiah for all of eternity!
