When the Pharisees asked Yeshua (Jesus) when the Kingdom of God was coming, He answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:20-21).1 The end-time events mentioned in the Scriptures are the things happening in you, not outside of you. The war is within you. All creation is groaning and waiting for the sons of God to be manifested (Romans 8:22-23). Christ is coming to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed (2 Thessalonians 1:10).
On a daily basis, the battle for the Kingdom is going on within you. Revelation chapter 12 talks about the great red dragon who comes to devour the child, and many have speculated about what the dragon represents. One expression of the dragon is your imagination; it is your carnal mind that is able to imagine many things. This expression of the dragon comes into play at a crucial moment in the end-time events because it is when the sons are ready to come to birth. Just as the saints are ready to manifest out of discipleship and into sonship, this issue of the carnal mind is waiting there to be our destroyer. It is waiting for the birth to happen so it can devour the child as soon as it appears. But you do not slay a dragon by trying to joust it with a toothpick. A much greater force is needed. Instead of being a people whose emotions are tossed back and forth by whatever comes our way, we as the Body of Christ must become a people who are driven by the Spirit—really driven! Yeshua said, “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force” (Matthew 11:12).
If the problem of the carnal mind is within us, then the answer has to be within us as well. Christ is coming forth in His saints. Our minds cannot be conformed to this world; they must be transformed (Romans 12:2). As Paul stated, “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). If you see your flesh as a big violent thing, then realize that the Holy Spirit is much bigger. Turn Him loose; turn loose the dragon slayer. Notice how conclusive and convincing Paul is when he tells us, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). This is important! If you are filled with the Spirit, you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
As we go through these difficult times, remember the words of Yeshua, “Do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on” (Matthew 6:25). Do not get caught up in all of that. The Lord is going to find a way to take care of us. Instead, be filled with the Spirit and seek first the Kingdom. Tell the Lord, “I need to have another experience with the Holy Spirit. I need something that is far more forceful than all these other forces at work within me.” Then the Holy Spirit will start driving and impelling each one of us—just as He did with Yeshua after He was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:9-12). Your flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, but the Spirit is set against your flesh (Galatians 5:17). And the force within you of that impelling Spirit will slay the dragon!
1 All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).