It surprises some young people today to learn that James Bond (“007”) was not the world’s first secret agent. In fact, countries and cultures have benefited from the work of super-sleuths for thousands of years. As far back as the Old Testament, God Himself commissioned spies to carry out essential tasks in His Kingdom. It’s a strategy He still uses today—and He invites YOU to suit up in spiritual armor, waging spiritual warfare as an agent of prophecy!
The Background: Who Were God’s Spies in the Bible?
Watch: The Spies’ Unlikely Accomplice
Top-Secret Intelligence: Know Your Enemy
The Purpose: Why Does God Want Spies Like Us?
Watch: God’s Promise to His Agents
The Mission: What Does God Want Me to Do?
Watch: Where Is God When Disaster Strikes?
The Strategy: What Does an Agent of Prophecy Do?
Unclassified Memo: Our Future Is Secure!
The Team: Is God Calling Me to Be an Agent of Prophecy?
The Background: Who Were God’s Spies in the Bible?
But first, let’s look at God’s agents of spiritual warfare throughout history. In the book of Numbers, we find the story of God’s first team of spies—an even dozen of them. Each of the twelve tribes contributed one man to a spy team whose mission was to leave Kadesh and go into the Promised Land of Canaan. The nation of former slaves had been shuffling through the desert for weeks, and it was now time to enter their new homeland—but they had no idea what to expect. So Moses commissioned them to “see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not” (Numbers 13:18-20).
The spies did their job—they brought back the facts about the land, but with different interpretations. Ten spies said the people of Canaan were too strong to conquer. The other two, Joshua and Caleb, said, “Yes, the people are strong, but God is stronger.” Israel listened to the ten and refused to go up to Canaan. The Lord sentenced them to spend forty years in the wilderness—the time required for that generation to die off and their children to grow up and take the land.
This brings us to God’s second team of spies: When the new generation was poised to march into the land, Joshua sent two spies to gather information about Jericho, the first stronghold they would encounter. They discovered that God had already put “the fear of God” into the people’s hearts: “Truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us” (Joshua 2:24). That information was one-hundred percent correct. Jericho fell without the use of a sword or arrow.
Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military strategist (died c. 496 B.C.), is often credited with saying, “Know your enemy.” But this commonsense idea is even older than Sun Tzu. Moses sent the twelve spies from Kadesh into Canaan to “see… whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many.” Joshua did the same from the east bank of the Jordan River before entering Canaan, sending spies to assess the strength of Jericho (Joshua 2:1). Even Jesus Christ recommended such knowledge: “What king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?” (Luke 14:31)
If the idea of knowing one’s enemy makes military sense and common sense, it makes even more sense in the spiritual arena because our spiritual enemy is stronger, and the stakes are higher. The biblical writers spare no effort in giving us intelligence on the nature of our true enemy, Satan himself. Indeed, they covered both the requirements for victory: know yourself and know your enemy. Our task is to embrace what the Bible tells us and be prepared for the battles we will certainly face.
The Purpose: Why Does God Want Spies Like Us?
You might be wondering, why does God use spies and secret agents to wage spiritual warfare? It’s simple: We are in a battle for eternity. It’s kingdom against kingdom, as Paul says in Colossians 1:13—the kingdom of darkness (Satan’s kingdom) versus the kingdom of light (God’s kingdom). Paul also wrote that we’re fighting a spiritual war, not a physical one (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Ephesians 6:10-18). As a parallel, think of the Cold War that was waged between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union following World War II until the collapse of that Communist system. No one fired a shot, but secret agents from both countries infiltrated the other to collect information that would result in a perceived or actual advantage.
The battle we fight is a non-military spiritual battle. And God has called every Christian to be a secret agent—to infiltrate the enemy’s domain and thwart Satan’s plans by rescuing those who may otherwise perish. Just as the two Hebrew spies preserved the life of their Canaanite accomplice, Rahab, and her family when the city was under attack, God also expects us to “go into all the world” for His sake and rescue as many people as we can. We are tactical agents of spiritual warfare, serving God's cause—especially concerning the future of planet Earth.
The Mission: What Does God Want Me to Do?
If you don’t remember the TV series and you’ve somehow missed the blockbuster movies, you would no doubt recognize the theme music for Mission: Impossible. Popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the hit show followed the exploits of a team of American government secret agents: the IMF (Impossible Missions Force). At the beginning of every episode, the team’s leader would receive a mysterious recording explaining a crisis that had developed. And there would always be this challenge: “Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is….” Of course, the IMF team always accepted the mission—and accomplished it.
God is saying the same to us: “I have sent my Son to earth on a mission to destroy the work of Satan” (1 John 3:8). He has chosen us to be His agents in spiritual battle throughout the earth. We have everything we need to fulfill this mission, but I must warn you—it is dangerous. Some have died, many have suffered, and all endure testing. But for those who accept this mission and fulfill it, there is a great reward. I ask you now: Will you become an agent of the Lord Jesus Christ and commit your life to the greater good of bringing many into the kingdom of God?”
The Strategy: What Does an Agent of Prophecy Do?
The mission’s message is always the same (Matthew 28:18-20). However, the strategy changes and the stakes grow higher each day as the return of Jesus Christ draws near. Just as the lead agent on Mission: Impossible receives a dossier of information to help him accomplish his specific mission, so have we. In light of the day and time we live, our dossier is this: the prophetic portions of Scripture outlining the future of planet earth. Have you studied this packet of material? Are you clear about what the future holds, prophetically speaking? Can you sketch an overview timeline of God’s prophetic timetable to share with a friend who doesn’t know Christ—who knows nothing about biblical prophecy and how specific it is? Do you put on your spiritual armor each day?
In the World of the End, many people are insecure, even fearful, about the future. Wars, food and water scarcity, economic inflation, soaring gas prices (and everything else), and natural disasters are rampant. Today is not the time to sit at ease under one’s vine or fig tree and enjoy the fruits of the land (Micah 4:4). That day is coming—but it is not now.
Natural disasters reflect the fallen nature of our world; they are evidence of the corruption of sin. Yet it’s also true that disasters reflect the temporary nature of this world. Famine, pestilence, earthquakes, and all manner of catastrophes offer concrete proof that God doesn’t intend to leave us in this broken place. Even now, He is preparing a perfect home for all who follow Him….
Indeed, one of the best ways we can communicate hope during times of disaster is to remind others that such times are temporary. They are fleeting. God’s promise of eternal life is grounded on His return and His eternal home for His people—a place where there will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, and no more pain.
The Team: Is God Calling Me to Be an Agent of Prophecy?
Only those who know the future and what it holds can live at peace in a world going mad. And the only way to anticipate what’s coming is to know God and His Word. Every Christian should be an “in-secret” agent-in-training, studying the prophetic portions of Scripture along with the Gospel. How will you “release those who through fear of death” (Hebrews 2:15) live paralyzed lives without yourself knowing what the future holds?
Will you accept the mission and become God’s prophetic agent in these tumultuous times? The lives of many may depend on your answer.