To achieve victory, we must mass our forces at the hub of all power and movement. The enemy’s “center of gravity.”
—Carl von Clausewitz, Prussian general
TO BECOME REAL WARRIORS of God in the end times, we must understand our ultimate goals and objectives. Likewise, we must understand the goals and objectives of the enemy.
If we are in this fight to the end, should we not be armed with what aligns with the Word of God? The consequences of not knowing the enemy’s objectives will be monumental.
Clausewitz is considered by many in the military as the godfather of modern strategic warfare. His book Vom Kriege (On War), published in 1832, is a classic in military strategy. It is studied at the prestigious U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which I had the privilege of attending, as well as at many other military colleges around the world. Clausewitz’s influence on how we fight today is immeasurable. He will help us understand the strategies of spiritual warfare, so we can leverage his wisdom in the last days.
He created what is known as the center of gravity (COG)—the key element we must understand to win in combat. The COG is the hub of all power and movement on which everything depends. On today’s modern battlefield, the COG can be difficult at times to define, but the military must define it in order to achieve victory. Even though the concept is more than two hundred years old, not defining it can lead to ill-fated consequences.1
The Army defines a COG as “those characteristics, capabilities, or sources of power from which a military force derives its freedom of action, physical strength, or will to fight.”2 In other words, if you destroy the enemy’s COG, you will bring about certain defeat. The COG, to further define it, is that point at which, when you strike it, the enemy collapses in defeat.
While there is one decisive COG that will finally bring an end to the enemy, there can be, at the same time, multiple COGs throughout an enduring war with many fronts. In World War II, for example, the Allies struck the decisive blow to Adolf Hitler in Normandy, France—site of the famous D-Day landing—but there were still other COGs to come in Japan and elsewhere in the Pacific theater.
In setting the conditions for an end-times warrior’s victory, we must understand how to focus our spiritual weapons on the enemy’s COG.
In the military, the COG can be many things. It can be the enemy’s supply lines, his will to fight, even a concept or worldview—whatever the military strikes that, when destroyed, unravels the entire framework.
In World War II, as I said, Hitler’s COG was his defensive force in Normandy. Once the Allies gained a foothold on the beaches of Normandy, the whole of Europe opened to them. The reason U.S. Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower put all his available forces on land and sea, all focused on the French beaches, was to deal a death blow to the Third Reich. D-Day paved the way for victory in Europe.
Although it is strictly a military term, the COG has many applications to the corporate world as well as to our personal and spiritual lives.
In the corporate world, a COG could be the bottom line or corporate profits for the year. If the corporate bottom line is not met, a company can experience serious financial difficulties.
In a similar way, one of the COGs in the end times is the rise of the Antichrist. Once the Antichrist rises to power, most of the world will follow him, and he and the false prophet will preside over a world government and global economic and religious systems. When Christ returns, He will defeat the Antichrist, and the false prophet and the world system he ruled over will collapse. Only Jesus Christ can defeat the Antichrist, and when He does, He will have taken out the enemy’s COG. When Christ takes out the Antichrist, the war is over.
A Personal Center of Gravity
I had an experience with a COG-type situation during my military career. I was assigned as the family life chaplain at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, home to the renowned 101st Airborne Division under the leadership of David Petraeus, then a major general. I was responsible for training chaplains in marriage and family counseling, as well as counseling many of the soldiers assigned there.
On my way to Fort Campbell during the summer of 2002, I envisioned overseeing a world-class counseling center worthy of the famed division. Instead, I walked into a run-down World War II–era building, dreary outside and in.
This has to be the wrong place, I said to myself. A dreadful mistake. But I was wrong. This was the building. For it to become a welcoming place for soldiers and their families, we would need a miracle. But how could this happen during a time of tight budgets and higher priorities in the Army? I made it a matter of prayer.
The Lord reminded me that nothing is too hard for Him. After all, wasn’t I a warrior for Him? It occurred to me, as I thought and prayed over the next few weeks, that figuring out the COG in this situation was the secret to solving my dilemma. But what was the COG in this case?
God, I prayed, what must happen in order for this building to be turned into the kind of place You want it to be? The Lord seemed to say, as He often does to those who believe, Get up and move forward and I will break down the barriers that are in the way.
I sensed that I should visit the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office (DRMO) where the military keeps its used equipment and furniture. But it was a dead end. All I saw was a bunch of junk as far as the eye could see. As I turned to leave, an older gentleman working there spoke up. He was a tall, heavy-set fellow, slightly bent over, I suppose, from all the years of moving furniture and equipment.
“Chaplain, what are you looking for in here?” he asked.
I told him about my situation and the need for new furniture, rugs, a television and other things to make my building homier. I told him that I planned to repaint and refinish the building’s interior so soldiers and their families could have a really nice place for counseling. I think I made him laugh from the way I said it.
I went on to tell him that I had run into major obstacles, and nothing had seemed to work in my battle for victory in this arena. I told him there was nothing at the DRMO I could use. I needed all new stuff. I may even have mentioned trying to find the COG in this fight.
It turned out to be where I was standing! Because suddenly the tide turned.
“Hold on one minute,” he said. “Don’t be so sure. You’ve come in here at the right moment because, you see, I’m retiring in thirty days. I’m not supposed to do this, but I’m going to do it anyway.”
He told me to follow him. Using the keys in his hand, he opened the gate to heaven—or so it seemed to me.
A few feet from where I had just been standing, with no hope and no chance of accomplishing my mission, I entered a vast warehouse full of new boxed furniture, office equipment and a whole host of other “goodies.”
Unbelievably he said, “Now, Chaplain, you walk down these aisles and select anything and everything you want, and I will put it on my delivery truck and deliver it personally to you today.”
He got out his clipboard and pencil and followed me down the aisles and marked down everything I wanted. And, true to his word, he delivered it all that day.
As in most military operations, taking the time, thought and strategy to discover the COG is vital and the key to victory. In this case, I had found a furniture warehouse and the man willing to hand over all that new stuff to me. That COG I had been seeking was blown wide open in those few moments, the enemy of hopelessness was defeated, and God shone forth in His glory.
Many times the COG is not clear. It may even be hidden from us until we seek guidance and direction from God. In my case, it was not until I received a prompting to knock on the door of DRMO that I found the COG unknowingly through my obedience to God’s direction.
At times, the COG is crystal-clear and we know how to attack and defeat it. At other times the COG is not clear and we need step-by-step guidance from the Lord to achieve victory.
I realize that this story is small potatoes compared to military operations—or what you may be going through right now. But it emphasizes the point that it is important to know and understand what obstacles, barriers, problems and issues need to be defeated in order to achieve victory in your life.
Center of Gravity in the End Times
The focus of all biblical history, and the focus of the end times, has always been and always will be Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is the COG of end-times biblical prophecy. Why? Jerusalem is one of the most enduring cities in the world. Historians trace its history to about 4000 BC, when the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was inhabited by nomadic shepherds. It became the capital of Israel under King David. It is the capital of Israel today. And is the future capital of the Kingdom of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ will rule the universe from His throne.
Satan and his dark lords and authorities know this. That is why Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged two dozen times, attacked several dozen times, and captured and recaptured more than forty times.3
Revelation 21:1–2 offers a glimpse of the future of Jerusalem:
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
In this Scripture we see the importance of Jerusalem to God. It is His masterpiece—a future reward for believers, a city unmatched in beauty and majesty, the city we will live in with God forever. Hebrews 11:9–10 helps explain the significance of Jerusalem in God’s eternal plan:
By faith [Abraham] made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Jerusalem is the epicenter of many biblical prophecies about the return of Jesus, the Day of the Lord, and the thousand-year reign of Christ. Not only that, but it is the center of three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Jerusalem is where the final battle will take place (see Zechariah 14:1–3); where Jesus will first set His foot down, on His return to earth (see Zechariah 14:4); where the restored third Temple will be located; and where the Antichrist, in the third Temple, will declare himself to be God (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4).
Nations are willing to fight and die over the ability to control this city. Watch the news about Jerusalem, and you will keep in tune with much of what is happening in the end times.
Our Enemy’s Center of Gravity
Just as we must understand our enemy’s COGs, we must also understand that the enemy is focused on our COGs in his fight against God, the Jewish people and Christians. If we do not understand how the enemy views our COGs, we will fail in this conflict. In today’s world, there are many COGs. The question is where to focus our prayers in this spiritual battle.
We believe there are three major COGs the enemy is targeting in the spiritual war against God, Christians, Jews, society and culture.
Religious Culture
The first COG is religious culture. Have you noticed the rising hatred for Christians and the growing persecution taking place across the globe? True faith is one of the three COGs in our enemy’s fight against God.
Jesus Himself said to one of His disciples, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18 ESV). Satan and the gates of hell are attacking the Church of Jesus Christ in ways unheard of in the modern era.
Many today attending Jesus-honoring, Bible-centered churches do not know Jesus well or what the Bible says or how to pray and engage the enemy. The apostasy taking place in the Church worldwide is frightening. Some of our historic denominations no longer believe in the infallible Word of God. Once-biblical churches and denominations are slipping from Scripture and succumbing to heresy and “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). The significant moral decay we are witnessing is largely the result of the once-mighty Church abandoning the authority of Scripture and bowing the knee to unbiblical theology and even paganism. The situation is far more serious than most people realize.
In addition, our friend retired U.S. Army Major General Robert Dees expresses great concern about the decline of the Church’s influence in each of the seven “mountains of culture” or societal influence—religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business. He says:
I think secular progressives have planted seeds for the last three or four decades that are now sprouting in great abundance. It’s as if they’re reaching critical mass in our school systems, culture and media. Really, every one of the seven mountains of culture seems to be aflame with secular progressivism. The concern is that we’ve reached a tipping point.4
In response, there is a growing movement to create small groups or “life groups” within larger congregations. This is an important development for spiritual growth, connectivity and relationship-building. If, in the future, severe persecution breaks out in America, these small groups will become like the house churches during the first century, or in Iran or China today.
What is the solution to the departure from Scripture and deteriorating influence and moral free fall? To bring all this to God in prayer and ask for another great awakening. We are not fatalists. God can still intervene even amid apostasy.
At the same time, we believe that time is short and we must act quickly. When God was about to destroy the children of Israel in His anger, Moses intervened on behalf of the people so God would withhold His judgment and spare them. God relented and, on account of Moses, did not destroy Israel (see Exodus 32:11–14).
Education
Another COG for our enemy is the educational arena. Satan knows how important learning is for children and young adults. For many years there has been an all-out attack on youth in the educational system. The results are predictable—the upheaval, revolt and decimation of society unfolding today.
When I was in college in the mid-1970s, I took a class on human anthropology. Almost the first words out of the professor’s mouth were that Adam and Eve are a myth, that the creation account in Genesis never happened, and that evolution has brought us to where we are today. Such challenges on the college or even high school level throw many young people off course and away from their faith.
Revisionist history is now wildly popular, with historical accounts being reinterpreted to bury spiritual causes and connections. Many educational institutions that started out as Bible colleges and seminaries teach naturalistic philosophy, having moved from creation to evolution, from a Bible-centered to a human-centered worldview.
Nor is the Word of God taught in most public schools, even ones that once required Bible reading and a certain degree of biblical literacy. Society has drifted and lost its moorings. Many people do not know what right looks like anymore, reminding us of Judges 21:25: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (NASB).
As believers, we must focus our energies at home to make sure our children are being educated. We must reintroduce Bible study groups and Bible reading in school at all levels. And we must bring education back into churches with innovative solutions for youth. Sunday school used to be a big deal in churches. It still is in some churches. But it has gone by the wayside at many other houses of worship.
Government
The third and arguably most important COG for our enemy is government. Anyone who reads or watches the news knows that the foundations of many governments are being shaken. As just one example, the U.S. Congress has bitter rivalries within itself; members of the legislative and executive branches are often at odds; the executive and judicial branches are routinely at loggerheads; and ordinary citizens are disheartened and even cynical about government dysfunction.
Satan is taking many of the governments of the world down the wrong path in a hurry. In fact, it is becoming clear that the forces of darkness want to merge the nations into a one-world government in preparation for the Antichrist’s rule.
Yet many people fail to grasp just how dangerous globalism and the undermining of democracy really are. Robert Dees asks:
How close are we and could this happen? Yes, it definitely could happen. Elections make a difference; leaders make a difference. So to say whether these things are going to happen, we the people have to vote with our feet, have some backbone. You and I have to be messengers—prophets, if you will—to our decadent culture; and prayerfully people will awaken in order to get themselves ready.5
The Believer’s Center of Gravity
Believers have COGs, not only in our spiritual lives but also in our personal lives.
The COG for the believer’s spiritual life is not the four walls of the building where we worship on Saturdays and Sundays; it is Jesus Christ. While people and things will fail us, Christ will never fail us. As my good friend retired U.S. Army Chaplain Rod Mills says, “Christ is not our priority; He is our everything, the center of all our being.” The Bible declares that He is the very center of the universe:
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:15–17
Now let’s look at our personal COG. The center of gravity in our personal lives is, frankly, our relationships. These relationships include our relationship to God, our family and our friends.
The enemy has waged a fierce campaign against marriage and family inside and outside the Church, including pastors and their families. Countless lives have been disrupted and damaged by the one whom Jesus said came here to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). The cost, in terms of brokenness, health, depression and finances, is immeasurable.
So what do we do with our understanding of our center of gravity, and how do we apply it to our lives in these last days? First, after recognizing what the COG is and where it needs to be applied, we must focus the weapons of our warfare with laser-like precision.
Again, our primary COG is Jesus. We get distracted by many other “important” things in life, but the Person and work of Christ must be the very center of our attention. No other priority is higher. This means that, throughout the day, we are in constant communion with Him. He is the first Person we ask questions of and receive answers from. We praise Him throughout the day and consult Him in the night.
The distractions are from our enemy. Against them we use the weapons of our warfare that God has given us. Among many, our primary weapon, like the infantry’s rifle, is prayer. Other weapons of our warfare include praise, the study and use of the Word of God, fasting, solitude and fellowship with other believers.
Our collective and individual prayers need to bombard heaven continually on behalf of nations, cities, towns, churches and individuals. We need to target those around us who need deliverance and freedom from bondage. We must ask God to open the eyes, ears and minds of those entangled with the corruption of this world system.
A perfect example of this kind of COG warfare is found in Daniel 9. Daniel, a Jewish exile and one of the highest-ranking administrators in Babylon under King Darius, son of Xerxes, “understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years” (Daniel 9:2). So, knowing the timing of the Jews’ return to Jerusalem from exile, he approached the Lord with fasting and in sackcloth and ashes, praying this powerful, persistent and specific prayer:
“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
“Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, LORD, because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
“Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
“Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
verses 4–19
Daniel’s people were in captivity for their past sins and rebellion against God. Daniel knew Jeremiah’s prophecy—that seventy years had passed and that they were to return to their homeland. But their return was not automatic. So God moved Daniel to get down to the nitty-gritty of prayer and repentance on behalf of the people for their release from captivity.
Now it is our turn. Where Daniel was is where we need to be today. This book is a call for believers worldwide to unite to ask God for a mighty outpouring of His Spirit to prepare us for the chaos and delusion that lie ahead, and for the rise of the Antichrist. We need, most of all, to pray and prepare to be warriors of God in the end times. Many, like Daniel, recognize the “times and the seasons” (1 Thessalonians 5:1 kjv) we are in. There is no doubt we are in the last days.
A recent LifeWay Research poll found that nearly nine in ten pastors see at least some current events matching the events Jesus said would occur shortly before He returns to earth. There was a near-consensus that the end times have finally arrived. The poll found that more than half (56 percent) of pastors expect Jesus to return in their lifetimes.6
“For too long many pastors shied away from teaching on birth pains and events leading up to the second coming,” said bestselling author Joel Rosenberg during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. “But the current [situation] demonstrates the need for solid, non-sensational preaching done in a biblical manner.”7
We are watching the prophetic clock tick down. Israel became a nation in a single day in 1948. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Islam is probably the fastest-growing religion in the world. There is a growing possibility of war in the Middle East, even World War III. And the fragile global economy, the rise of globalism, the loss of civil liberties, and a host of other events are setting the stage for the coming of the Antichrist and false prophet.
We should be praying like Daniel: “Lord, forgive our sins, restore our people, reinstate Your glory, lead us to righteousness, rebuild the crumbling Church, and let us once again be a light to this world.”
Understanding the Center of Gravity
The plan below outlines how you can determine your COGs. This process will help you prioritize the most important things in your life. We will show you how the military does it, and then we will show you how believers can do it.
In military lingo: Ends are the objectives (your end results). Ways are actions to achieve those results. And means are the resources required to achieve those results. In the World War II scenario described earlier about the invasion of Normandy, it would go as follows. Ends: Defeat Hitler and his military in Europe. Ways: Invade Normandy and push through to Berlin. Means: All the Allied forces and their logistical support.
Below is the military process of determining the COG for any operation of war. As with all things military, it is a step-by-step process. You can use the same process.
MILITARY PROCESS TO DETERMINE THE COG8
BELIEVER’S PROCESS TO DETERMINE THE COG
Here are some practical takeaways on employing the center of gravity: