The week, as the world has focused on the meeting between Trump and Putin, it is a good time for intercessors to remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness. In this case we are dealing with a Nimrod spirit.
Most Christians recognize Nimrod as the builder of the Tower of Babel, but few know the whole story and recognize his influence down through the ages. The historical Sumerian kings list records him as “Enmer Kar”, a name which translates into vowelless Hebrew as nmr (Nimrod) with the name “Kar” meaning “the hunter” (as Nimrod is known in the Bible). The Sumerians credit him with introducing the worship of the “queen of heaven,” a false pagan goddess which has come down the ages as Inana, Asherah, Isis, Venus and numerous others. The Tower of Babel was a ziggurrat, or a magical model of heaven, where the pagan “gods” from heaven could be contacted. Josephus tells us Nimrod rebelled against God because he hated God for judging mankind in Noah’s flood. His name “the hunter” indicates a violent disposition, and many believe that he was a tyrant who hunted men.
Nimrod had set himself above the plans and purposes of God. After the flood, God had commanded mankind to fill the earth, but Nimrod kept them under his thumb in Mesopotamia. Nimrod went so far as to set himself up as the seed of woman, the Messiah promised in Genesis 3:15, to cement His political power.
But God sent the Tower of Babel judgment, producing a civil war which overthrew Nimrod and scattered humanity over the earth. Sadly, however, many ambitious men had learned from Nimrod and took the Nimrod spirit with them to enslave their fellow men.
So we see the Nimrod spirit echoing through the ages in rulers like the pharaohs of Egypt, the kings of Assyria, Babylon and Persia, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler and Mao Tse Tung, to name a few, following Nimrod’s path to power. The Nimrod spirit comes upon those who want to rule over other men, establishing tyrannical government and putting themselves above God and His purposes. The Nimrod spirit deceives the followers of the tyrant through a false religion such as Islam or a false philosophy such as Communism, which legitimizes the power of the tyrant. For those who are not deceived, the hunter rules through fear and terror.
Even today, the Nimrod spirit controls most of the nations of the earth. Nimrod is constantly looking for ways to subvert those nations with shared power or democratic institutions, as in the African tragedies of “one man, one vote, one time” after colonialism or the subversion of Russian democracy by Putin. Religious tyranny from the Nimrod spirit can be seen in ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and in many Islamic nations such as Iran. Even in the United States individual liberties are being eroded by an increasingly powerful government bureaucrats. Outside of government the Nimrod spirit is active in large businesses and social institutions. The church is also plagued by the Nimrod spirit as many pastors and leaders are more intent of building their own kingdoms than in building God’s kingdom.
The answer to the kingdoms of the Nimrod spirit is to move into the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom comes within the believers, giving them discernment to see through Nimrod’s deceptions and power to overcome the fear weapon of Nimrod. Christians should be on guard against the Nimrod Spirit in their churches, remembering that Jesus established a standard of servant leadership which is diametrically opposed to Nimrod. Churches are to be run by the mothers and fathers, called elders in the Bible, who are interested in the outcome of their flock, rather than Nimrod spirit leadership, which is often interested only in the income from the flock.
Let us begin our prayer warfare against the Nimrod spirit at home by praying that the Nimrod spirit will be exposed and driven out of our churches. Pray for a revival of servant leadership and a spirit of unity between church leaders which will bring them together to advance God’s kingdom, not their own. Pray that the church will come into unity so that the world will believe that God so loved the world that He sent his son Jesus.
Throughout the world, the Nimrod spirit continues its bloody march through history, keeping billions of people in tyranny and the resulting poverty. The fields are ripe for harvest, and the only answer is the kingdom of God, which has liberated some two billion of us from the kingdom of darkness ruled by Satan, the ultimate Nimrod.
We know that in the end, Satan will rally the Nimrods of the earth to fight against Jesus as He returns to establish the outward Kingdom of God, and then Nimrod spirit will finally be broken.
Until then, let us use the spiritual weapons of our warfare to keep praying for the expansion of the kingdom of God and freedom from the Nimrod spirit. {eoa}
Ron Allen is a Christian businessman, CPA and author who serves in local, national and international ministries, spreading a message of reconciliation to God, to men and between believers. He is founder of the International Star Bible Society, telling how the heavens declare the glory of God; the Emancipation Network, which helps people escape from financial bondage; and co-founder with his wife, Pat, of Corporate Prayer Resources, dedicated to helping intercessors.
