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    • # 1: "And the plague was stopped"
    • #2 "Let the Sun of Righteousness Arise!"
    • #3: The Pulling Down of Dagon
    • #4 The Pulling Down of Dagon, Part Two
    • #5: When a King and a Prophet Agreed in Prayer, part one
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The Pulling Down of Dagon, Part Two

Dagon was a merman; his top half looked like a man – a warrior dressed for battle, and his bottom half resembled the back half of a fish. The Philistines believed that this god helped them in warfare and in fertility and agriculture (their economy). They called Dagon, “Lord of the gods” and “Lord of the land”.
 
The Philistines identified with a god of war because they loved to fight. Their attitude towards other nations was that they would bring them into subjection or kill them.  As the children of Israel came out of Egypt, God did not lead them close to where the Philistines were settled, because the children of Israel were not ready for the wars that the Philistines would bring against them: “Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, ‘Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt’” (Exodus 13:17, NKJV). Goliath, the Philistine champion, had been trained from his youth to be a warrior (I Samuel 17:33). The Philistines were all about war; not for self-defense, but for aggression.
 
We Christians pray for God’s kingdom, which is righteousness, peace and joy, to increase in the earth. But there are people today who are moved by a warring spirit and want to fight and strive all the time. If they can’t have their way and be in control and rule over others, then they go into fighting mode and overthrowing mode.
 
There are also leaders of nations like that whose number one goal is world conquest. Some want a world ruled by Islam and others want the world to be ruled by the failed philosophy of communism. In either system, human rights are very limited or non-existent.  Closer to home, there are leaders in our country whose goal is to try to create some kind of one world government Utopia on the earth without the God of the Bible being part of it. They struggle, fight, and lie trying to fulfill this impossible goal.
 
Those in the past who have promised a Utopia of peace without God did not bring peace, but declared war on their neighbors because what they really wanted was  world dominion.  They also made war on their own citizens, calling for the persecution, torture, and death of those who had a different religion than their system of the worship of the State.  The man half of Dagon calls for war, conquest, and control.
 
The fish half of Dagon promises good agricultural harvest / and a good economy. But there is no evidence that Dagon ever made the Philistine economy better. And those who have sought to create a Utopia without God have never created a better economy for their citizens, but instead produced a system in which those in power have lived like kings while the people were enslaved and impoverished. Anyone who has not examined the conditions of Venezuela before it was Socialist and since Socialism destroyed its economy and prosperity needs to do so. There are other examples of the horrible human misery that communism brings, such as  in Cuba and North Korea.
 
As long as God’s people of Israel served Him, the Philistines couldn’t win any battles against them. But about 70 years later, Eli the priest had two sons who were supposed to be faithfully serving in the Lord’s tabernacle, but instead they were using their ministry to steal some of the offerings given to the Lord and to seduce young women who were helping serve at the tabernacle (I Samuel 2:12-25). The day came when young Samuel prophesied about the destruction that would come on Eli and his sons because of this (I Samuel 3:1-18). Soon Israel went to war with the Philistines and was defeated, and Eli’s two sons were killed, and the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines and placed in their temple of Dagon (I Samuel 4:1-17). But within two days, the mighty power of God upon the ark knocked down and destroyed the Dagon idol (I Samuel 5:1-4).
 
Now is the time that we Christians must draw near to God and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. We must also pray for those in positions of authority so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives in dignity and the fear of the Lord (I Timothy 2:1-4). If we will seek the Lord with all our hearts, God will draw near to us with such a strong presence of His glory across our nation that Dagon, the deceiving and warring spirit, will fall and suffer great defeat.

© COPYRIGHT 2020 by Stephen Long. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
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  • Books
    • Polycarp and the Second Century Church
    • The Life of Jesus Foretold
    • Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
  • Reviews
    • Reviews of Polycarp and the 2nd century church
    • Reviews of The Life of Jesus Foretold
  • Devotionals & Articles
    • Life of Jesus Devotionals >
      • #1 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #2 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #3 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #4 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #5: Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #6 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #7: Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #8 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #9 LIfe of Jesus Devotional
      • #10 Life of Jesus devotional
      • # 11 Life of Jesus devotional
    • 2nd group - Life of Jesus Devotionals >
      • #12 Life of Jesus devotional
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      • #16 Life of Jesus devotional
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    • 3rd group - Life of Jesus Devotionals >
      • #20 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #21 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #22 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #23 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #24 Life of Jesus devotional
      • # 25 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #26 Life of Jesus Devotional
    • Church History Articles >
      • 8-1-16 The Second Century Church, part one
      • 8-15-16 Second Century Church, part two
      • 9-1-16 The Second Century Church, part three
      • 9-15-16 The Second Century Church, part four
      • 10-1-16 The Second Century Church part five
      • 10-15-16 The Second Century Church, part six
    • More Church History Articles >
      • 11-1-2016, The Second Century Church, part seven
      • 11-15-2016 The Second Century Church, part 8
      • 12-1-2016 The Second Century Church, part 9
      • 12-15-2016, The Second Century Church, part 10
      • 1-15-2017, The Second Century Church, part 11
  • Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • #1: The Love of God, from I John
    • #2: God's Love - Isaiah 58
    • #3: The Greatness of Jesus
    • #4: Our Sufficiency is in Christ
    • #5: The Importance of Our Words
    • #6: The Greatness of Jesus #2
    • #7 The Wisdom of God
    • #8 Faith and Prayer (from the teaching of Jesus)
    • #9 Faith and Prayer (from Romans)
    • #10 Faith and Prayer (from Hebrews)
    • # 11: God Gives us Hope
    • # 12: Mercy and Compassion
    • #13: The Lord is our Refuge
    • #14 Jesus is our Righteousness
    • #15 The Peace of God
    • #16 The Joy of the Lord
  • More Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • #17 Victory Over All the Power of the Evil One
    • #18: The Wisdom of God (from the teaching of Jesus)
    • #19 The Spirit of Truth
    • #20 The Love of God (from I Corinthians 13)
    • #21: The Love of God (from I Corinthians 13, part two)
    • #22: The Spirit of Truth, part two
    • #23: Victory Over All the Power of the Evil One, part 2
    • #24: The Whole Armor of God, part 1
    • #25: The Whole Armor of God, part 2
    • #26: Victory over all the power of the evil one, part 3
    • #27: Faith and Prayer, part 4
    • #28: Our God Gives us Hope, part two
    • #29: Victory over Fear
    • # 30 Freedom through Jesus Christ
  • Declarations of Faith
    • Declaration Proclaiming Forgiveness
  • Poems
    • #1 Poem Describing Heaven
    • Poem #2, A Great Battle at the End of Time
    • #3 Poem, the trials of Job
    • #4 Poem, God's Love from Romans
    • Poem #5: Receiving God's Rest
  • Miscellaneous Articles
    • # 1: "And the plague was stopped"
    • #2 "Let the Sun of Righteousness Arise!"
    • #3: The Pulling Down of Dagon
    • #4 The Pulling Down of Dagon, Part Two
    • #5: When a King and a Prophet Agreed in Prayer, part one
  • Contact Us