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.