Many readers are familiar with Antony and Cleopatra. Shakespeare immortalized this ancient couple in one of his most memorable plays. Although he took some poetic license, the real life interaction between these two was characterized by passion and power involving Roman and Egyptian kingdoms and every realm in between.
What many may not know is that Herod the Great, of Biblical fame, was a political leader during the same time period and regularly pandered to whoever had power. His desire to please Mark Antony motivated him to name one of his buildings after this patron and dubbed it the Antonia Fortress.
The Jews were determined to oust any foreign control and tried repeatedly to do so. Being part Jew himself, Herod understood the importance of keeping a firm grip on the center of Jewish culture and built this massive stronghold inside Jerusalem on the very corner of the Temple Mount.
Constructed of enormous stones, this secure impoundment housed Roman troops and enabled them to instantly deploy into the Temple Courts to quell uprisings and restore order. The citadel’s four towers reached 7-10 stories and its base was 130 feet by nearly 400.
Although the Jews appreciated Herod’s work in rebuilding the Temple, they resented the Antonia but were powerless to stop it as they watched it go up stone by stone. Over time, they learned to tolerate this intrusion and several years later some of them eventually holed up inside of it until Titus’s soldiers destroyed it, them, and everything else in Jerusalem.
The construction of the Antonia Fortress on the very corner of the holiest Jewish site reminds me of our strongholds. Spiritually, we sometimes harbor ideas, attitudes, habits, or addictions that seem impossible to overcome. No matter what remedies we throw at them, they seem impenetrable to every assault and somehow become even stronger.
These fortresses are often at or near the core of our being and overshadow the rest of our lives just as the Antonia dominated the Temple complex. Every time we think we have gained a measure of freedom, the troops stream out to get us back in line.
Second Corinthians 10 reveals strategies and weapons we can employ to demolish these strongholds but it takes persistent intentional effort. Overcoming them begins with a belief that God is powerful enough to tear them down. Faith empowers the other weapons in our spiritual arsenal.
The second key weapon is prayer. Our prayers become battering rams slamming into the gates and walls of our strongholds until they are eventually weakened and collapse. James 5 reminds us that the fervent prayers of righteous people are powerful and effective.
When we enlist other believers to pray with and for us, it’s like adding extra oomph to our ram. Too often, we’re ashamed to admit our struggles to anyone and are left to battle these strongholds alone. Thankfully, God gave us brothers and sisters who can come to our aid and fight with us.
Accountability to another person is also an effective strategy and crucial when battling certain addictions. Twelve Step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and similar groups have helped demolish entrenched strongholds for millions of people. Celebrate Recovery is one of these and it meets at Antioch Church every Tuesday at 7pm. There is no charge and everything is completely confidential.
We must also be vigilant not to enable the formation of new strongholds. When we read, watch, or listen to dark or destructive messages, we open the eye and ear gates of our souls for workers to carry in stones and mortar. When we experiment with addictive substances, we encourage the builders to begin construction. Let’s close our gates and protect our souls from destructive influences.
If you are battling a difficult stronghold that dominates the rest of your life, deploy the weapons of faith, prayer, and accountability to assault it with full force. And be vigilant not to allow new ones to go up.
Storming the gates, George