Psyops
Military deception missions use psychological warfare to deliberately mislead enemy forces during a combat situation. Does the enemy of our souls do the same?
Paranoia is the total breakdown of confident assurance.
Of course, if I am suspicious of everyone and everything, whether real or imagined, I need to know why. It is not enough to speculate. If the concern is real, then I need to take measures to ensure my own safety, and that of my family. If it is not, then I must take action to mitigate the feeling that I am being pursued, betrayed, or harassed. Paranoia is a mental illness. More on this in a moment.
This proves valuable and catastrophic on the battlefield. The U.S. Army Special Operations Command, 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), uses techniques to persuade, change, and influence their enemies. They use all sorts of equipment such as radio / video / leaflets among others for the benefit of U.S. Military operations in the following way:
INFLUENCE WITH INFORMATION
Military Information Support Operations (MISO) missions involve sharing specific information to foreign audiences to influence the emotions, motives, reasoning, and behavior of foreign governments and citizens. This can include cyber warfare and advanced communication techniques across all forms of media.
DELIBERATELY DECEIVE
Military deception missions use psychological warfare to deliberately mislead enemy forces during a combat situation.
ADVISE GOVERNMENTS
Interagency and government support missions shape and influence foreign decision making and behaviors in support of United States’ objectives.
PROVIDE COMMUNICATIONS FOR RESCUE EFFORTS
Civil Authorities Information Support (CAIS) missions aid civilian populations during disaster relief situations by sharing critical information to support the rescue effort.1
They can cause the enemy to run when no one is pursuing them. For instance, the enemy might have gained the upper hand in a battle. But Psychological Operations (PSYOP) Soldiers can make it appear that they are actually losing that battle and then order a retreat. We see an example of Psychological Operations in Judges 7:19–22.
Gideon used trumpets, broken pitchers with torches in them, and loud shouts of “the sword of the LORD and of Gideon!” It says it was the LORD that confused the enemy and they all started attacking each other. How did the LORD do that? By training Gideon’s forces to be Special Operations Psychological Operations Soldiers.
This can be catastrophic if our enemy uses these techniques on us. If we believe everything we read or hear, or even see, without paying attention and double checking and making sure that what we are consuming is accurate and true. The devil is a master at psychological operations. In fact, that is his most valuable unit of demonic forces. He uses deceit to get us to believe a lie and then condemns us for doing so.
The devil is like credit card companies.
The following commercial shows how you can use a credit card to experience the world:
This card promises that you’ll “Live large”:
And this card promises “love”:
These all use psyop tactics to get you to use their card to fulfill your wildest dreams, but there is no hint of consequences. The devil employs these tactics. Sin all you want. But once you are in debt, destroyed, and demoralized, the enemy comes in to wipe you out.
What is the antidote for paranoia? If I am feeling this sort of unjustified fear, how can I determine fantasy from reality? The following is from psyche.co:,
“Key points – How to handle paranoid thoughts
1. Paranoia is an unjustified fear that other people intend harm. It includes distressing, suspicious thoughts and feelings that can vary in severity.
2. Paranoia has a variety of causes and risk factors. Adverse life experiences may increase the risk of paranoia. Anxiety and certain cognitive tendencies (such as a bias toward negative interpretations) could also play a role, along with other factors.
3. Notice potential signs of paranoid thinking. These may include recurrent suspicions without concrete evidence to support them and frequently feeling untrusting or hypervigilant.
4. Write down your thoughts and possible triggers. Take note of when a suspicious thought appeared, how you responded, what might have contributed to it, and whether there were other ways of explaining the situation.
5. Ask yourself about the evidence. If you’re unsure if a thought is a paranoid one, consider whether there is clear evidence to back it up – and if there is evidence against it.
6. Slow down your thinking. Racing thoughts can feed into paranoia, but mindful breathing and a deliberate focus on the present can help calm them.
7. Review habits and routines with potential triggers in mind. Managing paranoia can include improving your sleep hygiene, reducing substance use, or other behaviour changes that promote wellbeing.
8. Stay connected and consider sharing your thoughts. Avoiding others could reinforce paranoia; being with and sharing with trusted people can help overcome it.”2
Spiritually, speaking, the Bible tells us how we can overcome PSYOPS, or the lies of the enemy.
1. Being afraid of the lies of the enemy is unjustified. True, the enemy can be a ferocious and a worthy adversary for any human who stands in their own strength. But the enemy is also a liar and inflates his own strength.3
2. Thinking that we are powerless can cause a host of problems. The Bible tells us that the devil roams around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Lions roar as a warning to other lions that they are walking on their territory and to stay out or risk a fight. But we belong to Jesus! Therefore, the enemy is toothless and has no power. We must retain that in our thoughts. I am a child of God. I am in the pride of the Lion of the tribe of Judah!4
3. Recognize we are involved in a spiritual battle. Some battles must be fought in the flesh; there are fleshly weapons for those: swords, shields, spears, and more modern guns, tanks, fighter jets and missiles. For the Christian, we fight a spiritual battle. We must discern what kind of battle we are in and arm ourselves appropriately. A tank is useless against the devil. The sword of the Spirit is necessary along with the armor of God. For example, when arguing with your spouse, or fighting with your boss or having problems with your kids, you might easily reach for a fleshly weapon, not a tank, but perhaps screaming back or even getting into a physical altercation. This is where we have to recognize that there is a devil who is instigating this and respond with the appropriate spiritual weapon.5
4. Right thinking equals right action. The enemy will use psychological operations to cause you to think badly about yourself or those around you. God does the exact opposite. If you find yourself constantly fighting and arguing with those around you, watch out, you might be falling prey to the devil’s PSYOP!6
5. Stand on the promises of God. The most powerful weapon we have at our disposal is the only offensive spiritual weapon the Christian possesses: The Word of God. It is a double-edged sword, sharp and true when wielded. The enemy is cut to pieces by it. But its power is also in the promises that God has made to us. Once we are armed with the spiritual armor, we are told to stand. The spiritual soldier holds his ground upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God promised that if we acknowledge Him as our Commander-In-Chief—our Lord, and believe that He rose from the dead, we are saved! What a promise! We are secure in Him, immovable, confident and ready to fight.7
6. Do not allow yourself to be overcome. There is no reason for us to be overcome by the enemy. His power lies in deception, but we stand upon the truth. If we rest secure in the fortress of our King, we have nothing to fear and always fight with an advantage. Psychological Operations were used during the times of castle sieges. The enemy would surround the castle, not letting any food or other supplies in, effectively, starving the people until they gave up. The PSYOP was that even though food was scarce, those inside would trick their enemy into believing they had enough to last for a very long time by throwing food to the soldiers besieging the castle. Once the soldiers believed they would be there for longer than expected, it would reduce morale, and soon, the enemy would leave. Although they used the PSYOP to do so, we don’t have to. Our King has plenty of resources for us, therefore, we will not be overcome.8
A reversal of this was when the Mameluke General, Baybars, attacked the fortress of Saphet with Knights Templar (12th-century special forces) inside defending it with enough resources to last for years. The enemy sieged the castle and unsuccessfully attempted to take it by force for three years. But then employed a different tactic. H, he spoke to the Syrian Christian Sergeants and other supporters inside and made them believe that they would set them free if they would give up. So many of them wanted to defect to the enemy that the Templars realized, even with their vast resources, they could not defend Saphet without them. Once they negotiated a surrender, they opened the gate for the enemy to enter. Immediately, Baybars captured the women and children and sold them into slavery. Then he decapitated the knights along with the Syrian Sergeants and the other men in the fortress. They didn’t stand their ground even though they had all the resources they needed! [8b]
7. Think less about yourself, and more about others. If the enemy can keep us thinking about ourselves and our own needs, then he is able to cultivate an asset in our thoughts, influencing us to be thoughtless of others and to begin to view those who do not think like us as the enemy. To overcome this, we must be willing to calmly discuss issues without getting emotional.9
8. Do not isolate yourself. Isolation is dangerous. The enemy will do everything he can to divide and conquer, and when he does, we lose the ability to think critically. We must, therefore, be open to new ideas and, with discernment, dissect the information and compare it to the truth. For the Christian, the truth is the Word of God. Use it to get a bearing or a base understanding of the topic, then apply critical thinking and wisdom. Pray about it and get with others who can encourage you in the truth. Don’t isolate.10
The scriptures teach us that a wicked person flees when no one is pursuing them. This is a classic definition of paranoia. But a righteous person is as bold as a lion. When we know the truth, it most certainly will set us free.
“The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1)
From the U.S. Army’s Web Site.
https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/specialty-careers/special-ops/psychological-operations.html
How to handle paranoid thoughts
https://psyche.co/guides/how-to-handle-paranoid-thoughts-by-recognising-false-alarms
John 8:44, Psalm 38:12, Proverbs 11:18, 2 Corinthians 11:3, Ephesians 4:14, Colossians 2:8, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 20:10…etc.
1 Peter 5:8–11, Revelation 5:5, Romans 8:37, Hebrews 2:14–15
2 Corinthians 10:3–5, Ephesians 6:10–13, Ephesians 6:14–18, 1 Timothy 1:18, 2 Timothy 2:4
Proverbs 14:26, Deuteronomy 7:6–8, 1 Corinthians 13:4–8, Philippians 2:3–4
Ephesians 4:15, Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 1:2–4, 2 Timothy 2:9, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Romans 10:9–10
Psalm 144:1–4, Philippians 4:19, 1 Corinthians 2:9
(a) Wikipedia, Psychological warfare (History) https://tinyurl.com/74b4x4ta,
(b) Barber, Malcom, The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple.
September 29, 1995, by Cambridge University Press. (page 167)
Leviticus 19:17–18, Matthew 5:43–48, Acts 20:35
Proverbs 18:1, Hebrews 10:25, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, Matthew 12:24–30, Luke 12:56, Hebrews 5:12–14
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