Do You Really Believe In demons?

Comedian Bill Cosby has recently been in the news, because of alleged rape allegations.

"As Mark Whitaker’s recent Cosby biography makes clear, the man has his demons. He had affairs while on the road and there have been bumps in his long marriage to his wife, Camille."

When I read that article I wondered how literally Mark Whitaker means for us to take the phrase "the man has his demons." It is quite common actually. Australian columnist Tim Boyle writes of tennis player Andy Murray,

'To care for Andy the performer, you have to first look past his manifest demons on the court, his tireless and inexplicable companies."

This is, after all, merely a way of talking, is it not? It is symbolic in nature. It refers to strange and inexplicable actions and lifestyles, not actual influence by real, but unseen spirits.

Very few Americans believe in any way that demons and Satan are real. In a 2009 nationwide survey of adults' spiritual beliefs conducted by the Barna Group four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan "is not a living being but a symbol of evil. An additional two out of ten (19%) said they "agree somewhat with that perspective. Only a minority of Christians believe that Satan is real (26%).  And, for that matter, most Christians do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force, either.

It appears that we Americans have come a long way from the New Testament view of life. From the perspective of the Gospel writers and the letters of the Apostles demons are everywhere. Before Jesus began his public ministry, after 40 days of fasting, we read of his struggle with the Prince of Darkness himself:

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. - Matt. 4:1-11 ESV

As his ministry began, Jesus set up his headquarters in Capernaum, a fishing village on the shore of the inland sea of Galilee. As was his custom, he went to the synagogue there on the Sabbath. The people were impressed. He taught them "as one who had authority, and not as the scribes" - Mark 1:22.  But one among them was definitely not impressed. As soon as Jesus started teaching he leaped to his feet and began shouting at Jesus,

"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God." - Mark 1:24 ESV

Evidently the members of that synagogue had been putting up with this guy for some time. I'm guessing they didn't know what to do with him or how to shut him up. Mark records, however, that Jesus saw at once that what was happening was more than a man out of control. He addressed the demon within, rather than the man himself.

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. - Mark 1:25-26 ESV

Unclean spirit? What's that? In nearly a hundred times the Bible speaks of unclean things. In particular Moses wrote about (1) certain foods, (2) contact with human or certain animal dead bodies, and (3) various bodily conditions and diseases. The concept pointed to how sin pervades this material world and prevents one from being completely and totally committed to God—the idea included in the command,

"You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine." - Lev 20:26 ESV

Jesus' encounter with the man possessed by an unclean spirit and his successful resistance of the devil himself is a stark reminder that there are indeed unseen spiritual forces at work in our midst and often in the dark corners of our hearts. They oppose all that Jesus' teaches and does. And they are hard at work to lead us to adopt their views and ways. We all are therefore strongly advised to be prepared for such encounters, as the Apostle Paul wrote,

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. - Eph 6:12-13 ESV

The Road Less Traveled

I promised to speak about demon possession. Permit me to focus on one question in particular. Can a person ever be possessed by a fallen angel, a demon? What is the Biblical teaching on this matter and how does one go about dealing with it?

As noted in my previous post the New Testament also recounts many instances of demonic possession, mainly in the synoptic Gospel accounts of Jesus' ministry. Jesus encounters persons possessed by demons who have take them captive and who cause physical and mental affliction. For example consider the story of two demonized men in the country of the Gadarenes.

And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" 

Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs." 

And he said to them, "Go." 

So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. - Mat 8:28-34 ESV

Here we see the Lord exercising total power over  demons by driving them out and into a herd of unclean pigs. Such an exorcism was a sign that the Kingdom of God had come (Matt. 12:22-23). Jesus has come to rescue us all from the dominion of darkness and has brought us into the Kingdom of God's Son (Col. 1:13). 

The devil made me do it 

That was then, but what about demonic possession today? Does it still happen? A Texas jury found that Andrea Yates was insane when she drowned her five children in a bathtub five years ago. A friend asked if this is an example of demonic possession? Is insanity the modern day example of demon possession?

To answer his important query I turn to a famous and oft cited nineteenth century biography of a German Lutheran pastor. The story is recorded in the landmark biography of Pastor Christoph Blumhard (1805-1880),  The Awakening: One Man's Battle With Darkness by Friedrich Bluendel. This free e-book was published by www.Plough.com and the Bruderhoff Communities of the U.K. The book is introduced as follows: 

When Blumhardt, a 19th-century pastor from the Black Forest, agreed to counsel a tormented woman in his parish, all hell broke loose—literally. But that was only the beginning of the drama that ensued. Zuendel's account, available here in English for the first time, provides a rare glimpse into how the eternal fight between the forces of good and evil plays itself out in the lives of the most ordinary men and women. More than that, it reminds us that those forces still surround us today, whether we are awake to them or not.

Blumhardt served as pastor of a Lutheran church in Moettlingen, a parish at the northern end of the Black Forest, numbering 874 souls and encompassing two villages. The youngest of three orphaned girls, Gottlieben Dittus, had many demons cast out from her through the prayerful ministrations of Pastor Blumhardt. So wondrous and awesome were these events that Pastor Blumhardt was immediately catapulted to nationwide notoriety. People by the hundreds flocked to him for healing. When criticized for using his pastoral office as an instrument for healing, Blumhardt replied,

"According to the New Testament, God wants to offer his gifts through human instruments. The gospel is to be proclaimed by servants of God, ambassadors for Christ, and these messengers are to bear spiritual gifts and powers for the church. That is why the apostles were endowed with exceptional power, both to preach and to heal.

"Christianity knows absolutely nothing of this anymore. Hence all the despair in face of misery, and the devious means many try. Hence, too, the plight medical science finds itself in: it is expected to replace by its skills what the servants of the gospel ought to provide, but have long ago forfeited. In this case, medical science is to be commended for having labored far more faithfully than the servants of the gospel, in spite of the unbelief it professes as a body" (p. 117).

What about today?

Most modern psychiatrists would mock at such an approach to insanity as primitive, simplistic and thoroughly unscientific. To be sure, not all mental illness is caused by demonic possession. However, toward the end of the twentieth century along came a psychiatrist by the name of M. Scott Peck to publish his now famous book, The Road Less Traveled (1978). I commend that book and others by the same author to you as well. Peck draws from his own practice of psychiatry to point out that not every aberrant behavior can be explained as simply another form of mental illness.

Peck says medical scientists and the churches have not been talking together as much as we might about such things as spontaneous remissions of cancer and psychic healings. The attitude of many in the medical professions is that miracle cures are nonexistent. Too many Christians feel the same way, suggesting that such things only happened back in the days of the early church. Peck says he and many other physicians have now changed their minds. Miracles do happen. He also emphasizes that demonic possession is real.

In later writings, Peck documents his own work with truly evil people and the exorcising of demons. See People of the Lie (1998) and Glimpses of the Devil : A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption (2005).

Why should we Christians be surprised by this? That is, after all, what our Bible says. Why do we Christians doubt it, whether it has to do with the healing of the body or the casting out of demons? There is a whole lot more to this world than we thought we knew about. To deny this is to fail to unify all knowledge and experience into our current understanding of human life and activity.

Here is where I stop. I am not intimate with the Andrea Yates case. I have personally had but limited experience with exorcisms. But is there still such a thing as demon possession? Yes indeed. And does Jesus still cast them out? Oh yes! And, further, do miracles of healing still happen? Most certainly! But at the same time shall we throw away all that modern medicine brings? By no means. Let us rather make sure we get into that dialog Peck points to and travel together down that road less traveled.

Demonic Oppression

"I don't know what's gotten into her!" Ever hear that phrase? Its the complaint of a mom about her disobedient daughter. But the mom probably doesn't mean what another mom of long ago meant when she cried to Jesus, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon" (Matt. 15:22).

Oppressed by a demon? What does that mean? Is there actually such a thing as a demon? The original text actually reads like this: "my daughter is miserably demonized." In other words, we're dealing with a verb (daimonizomai), not a noun. Some being she called a daimon was doing bad things to her daughter. We can be fairly certain that she was not well informed by the Hebrew Scriptures, but rather had picked up ideas from the Greek culture that pervaded her country—and maybe some ideas from her Jewish neighbors. After all, she did know about Jesus. She called him Lord, Son of David.

At any rate according to Greek thinking there are a variety of beings between God and man called daimons. Supposedly some were capable of good and others of evil. They seem to be the same as the messengers (mal'akim) we read about in the Old Testament (angels in the Greek translation). For the moment I shall ignore the many passages that speak about the angel of the LORD, whom many interpreters, myself included, believe refers to the pre-incarnate Christ (1 Cor. 10:1-9; Exod. 3:2, 14:9, 20:16; Judg. 2:1-4, etc.) But other than the many angel of the LORD references we read of other angels.

• And he (Elijah) lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, "Arise and eat." - 1Ki 19:5 ESV

• Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. - Dan 3:28 ESV

I will not offer here an entire teaching about angels and demons. Suffice it to say that some of the angelic beings have rebelled (Jude 6). They remain in darkness about the LORD's plans and ways. They are led by a chief variously known as Satan or Azazel, etc. It was this powerful being that tempted Jesus at the outset of his public ministry. My previous blogs referred to this three-fold temptation (Matt. 4:1-11). Besides being attacked indirectly by Satan all through his ministry, Jesus came across many others who are demonized, as was this woman's daughter. We're not told in any detail what this demon had done to her. We know from other accounts what demons did to others, e.g.

• And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. - Mat 8:28 ESV
• As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. - Mat 9:32 ESV
• Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. - Mat 12:22 ESV
• And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. - Mat 17:18 ESV

The goal of these evil forces is to bring suffering and pain and eternal bondage to evil. We saw how Satan worked to lead Jesus down this path. Based upon these passages we may expect demon oppression to come in the form of

• physical illness, such as blindness, self-mutilation, addictions and a variety of other illnesses. 

• spiritual rebellion, hatred and anger toward God, embracing false religions, the rejection of common morality, leading to such things as lying, cheating and murder. 

• emotional upheaval and confusion, such as outbursts of anger, depression and hopelessness.

Of course we must be very cautious about labeling every physical illness or emotional problem as demonic oppression. Jesus did not, nor should we. However, we must acknowledge the presence of these beings and be prepared to call upon our Lord in prayer to drive them out.

In my next post I will say more about the difference between demonic oppression and being actually possessed by a demon.

Let Us Start To Talk About The Two Kingdoms

We who are disciples of Jesus Christ are committed to the care of the whole person, physically, mentally, spiritually and socially. This is because the Spirit of the living Christ dwells in us, teaching us to love one another even as we are loved.

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. - 1Jo 4:19-21 ESV

Part of the vision of George P. Mitchell in developing The Woodlands, TX. in the early 1970s was to have the churches that grew up in that planned city to be in charge of what were and still are called human services. In the early years of my ministry as pastor of Resurrection Lutheran Church, Spring, 
TX.. the congregation sponsored the development of Living Word Lutheran Church in The Woodlands and I served on the initial board of Interfaith Ministries, a coalition of churches that continues to guide and supervise human services in The Woodlands. In this planned community of over 100,000 people

Interfaith Programs and Services are available to qualifying individuals and families who reside in The Woodlands and the South Montgomery County area with employment assistance in six counties. Most programs are free of charge and are funded by the generous financial support of corporations, congregations, foundations, civic groups and private individuals.

Interfaith of the Woodlands provides many services and events including The Woodlands Directory,  senior services including senior transportation, the Interfaith Child Development Center, child care The Woodlands, employment services, family services, a food pantry, job assistance, job counseling, crisis assistance, workforce services, and The Woodlands Golf Tournament. See our programs page for more information on all our programs.

Both Resurrection and Living Word also provide support and care specifically for individuals and families of their congregations, as well as cooperate with other churches of their denomination in deeds of mercy throughout the world. I could share many stories of how that was done during the years of my pastorates at both churches. 

I mention all this by way of introduction to a deeper look into the Biblical teaching about how we Christians, both in our vocations and in our gathered congregations, operate in what has long been called two kingdoms. The very use of that phrase, however, requires some sorting and defining, because for hundreds of years it has been the source of much contention and confusion. 

Let us start with the fact that in this world there is a constant battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil. Listen to our Lord

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons." Knowing their thoughts, he (Jesus) said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. - Mat 12:24-28 ESV 

The kingdom of Satan, prince of demons, began to operate at the very beginning when the devil led Eve and Adam to rebel against their Lord God and their son Cain murdered his brother Abel. This kingdom and the spiritual forces behind it continue to cause suffering, sorrow, pain and death to the very present. Jesus openly accepted the fact that the world is under the control of this prince. Jesus came, as He said, to overthrow the rule of the prince of darkness and to establish the kingdom of God. When some Greeks approached Philip to ask if he would introduce them to Jesus, Jesus spoke about how he would overthrow the devil's rule by his death upon the cross.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." 

Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 

Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. - Jhn 12:24-33 ESV

 The devil loses control of our lives when we come under the rulership and reign of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul writes that our heavenly Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. - Col 1:13-14 ESV

It is at this point that confusion about the two kingdoms begins. Permit me to return to a brief look at my story about The Woodlands and the churches of The Woodlands. That coalition of churches that guides the activities of Interfaith is made up of a very mixed group of Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Universalists, Christian churches of various denominations and several non-denominational churches. Not all by any means embrace Jesus Christ as God, Savior and Lord. Now the hard questions:

Are all those churches that reject the lordship of Jesus part of the devil's kingdom? And should we Christians reject them and refuse to cooperate with them in developing and supporting the various acts of mercy and care provided by Interfaith? There are some who say yes to that question. They do not support Interfaith and, in fact, have not located their church properties within The Woodlands.

It is here that I will continue this discussion in my next post.

Werewolves, Vampires And Other Abominations

In November, 2009 New Moon, the next film in the Twilight series appeared in theaters. In the film Edward leaves Bella after an attack that nearly claimed her life, and in her depression she falls into yet another paranormal relationship—this time with werewolf Jacob Black.

Werewolves? Moons? Paranormal? What is all this? Here are some notes from Wikipedia:

Clinical lycanthropy is defined as a rare psychiatric syndrome that involves a delusion that the affected person can transform into, has transformed into, or is a non-human animal.[1] Its name is connected to the mythical condition of lycanthropy, asupernatural affliction in which humans are said to physically shapeshift into wolves. The terms zoanthropy and therianthropy are also sometimes used for the delusion that one has turned into another animal in general and not specifically a wolf.[2]

The legend of the werewolf is very ancient. We all know the story of Liitle Red Riding Hood.  This innocent child becomes the victim of a werewolf who dresses in Grandma's clothing with the intent of eating her. Many such stories exist. And often the mystical power of the moon is involved.

Some claim the Bible has a story of a king who was changed into a wild beast, perhaps even a werewolf. The king was Nebuchadnezzar II.

And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. - 2Ki 25:1-2 ESV

In the book of Daniel, one of the Jews carried to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem, King Nebuchadnezzar turns to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) for an interpretation of a strange dream he had. Daniel tells him that his kingdom would eventually fall and that he would be turned into a wild beast for seven years because of his immense pride.

Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws. 

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?" At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. - Dan 4:33-37 ESV

So what lessons are there for us in all of this? Obviously it is clear that we are to have no other gods before the LORD. This is the first of all the commandments. Anything or anyone who is worshipped and placed above and before the LORD God is an idol. Babylon's king made himself a god, an idol to be worshipped. He was therefore justly condemned. This is also why the Bible strictly forbids believers to turn to the occult, magic and other related dark powers.

"When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, - Deu 18:9-13 ESV

From a Biblical viewpoint the whole vampires and werewolves phenomena surfacing in these days must be seen and evaluated as an abomination. We are warned to avoid such things in the same way we detest and condemn the sacrifice of our children to some god or goddess, the worship of an idol, homosexuality, adultery and the murder of unborn infants.

The Bible's Weird Worldview

We all dream, but most of the time we forget our dreams as soon as the day begins.  Isaac Watts' hymn "O God, Our Help In Ages Past" describes it well.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Soon bears us all away;
We fly forgotten as a dream
Dies at the op'ning day. 

There are, however, some dreams that keep coming back. We all know of them. In one of my recurring dreams I have left my college classes for the day and want to go home. However, to do that I must find my car. But I have no idea where I left it. It has to be somewhere around, but I cannot find it. The buildings are unfamiliar. The streets lead to places I've never seen before. And on top of that I don't even remember what kind of car I was driving. It is all very frightening and confusing until I awaken and realize it was just a dream.

Just a dream? I wonder. What does it mean? Is there a meaning to my dreams? And what about the people or creatures I encounter in those dreams?

Forget it, says our modern world. "Dreams represent a world of imagery in which our darkest fears, deepest secrets, and most passionate fantasies break out from the unconscious mind and only at this time become present to our own consciousness." 

Dreams certainly cannot amount to any encounter with a reality, a spirit world if you will, beyond that which I experience with my senses while I am awake. That cannot be, because there is no such world. The only reality is that which we can measure and approach through our rational minds. Yes, we humans have an unconscious mind, but it is still my mind. It is not my spirit or soul encountering another world beyond what we can see, feel, taste, touch and smell.

Or at least so it seems while we are awake. But then I read, for instance, this strange passage—one among many in the Bible—about the birth of Jesus.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. - Mat 1:18-25 ESV

"An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream . . ." What's this Angel? Messenger? In a dream? Prophets foretelling events 600 years before they happen? The Lord speaking? And then Joseph waking up and making a dramatic decision to go ahead with the marriage and take Mary into his home—in spite of the fact that she was carrying a baby that was not his! "For that which is conceived in her is from the (what?) Holy Spirit." What could that possibly mean? Virgin birth? Now you're really pushing things. And Joseph knew nothing about three persons and yet one God. God with us? In a baby? What could that possibly mean? And yet—and yet—he "did as the angel of the Lord commanded . . ." Weird or at best strange that a man would make such a momentous decision on the basis of a dream.

Oh boy, now this 21st century Christian is in trouble, because he has just encountered a way of thinking—or is it a reality?—quite different from the one dominating our culture. Does God send messages from the other side? Are there really angelic messengers? Do prophets really see into a future guided by the hand of God? And what about my dreams? Do angels—or demons for that matter—really come to me or at me when I'm dreaming? Should I be afraid or should I expect it? And how will I know for certain that it is not merely some of my "darkest fears, deepest secrets, and most passionate fantasies" breaking out from my unconscious mind to present themselves in the form of images and stories to my consciousness?

I think we need to spend some time pondering just how very different the Bible's worldview is from that dominating our 21st century scientific, rational world. Stay with me. We'll give it a shot in the next several postings.

A Few More Thoughts About Mary Magdalene

The Sabbath was over at sunset on Saturday evening, but it was too dark to visit Jesus' tomb. So the women who had followed Him determined to do what little they could to honor His memory. Even before the sun rose we read of Mary Magdalene:

"Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him"(John 20:1,2). 

So much has been written and said about this Mary called Magdalene, but who was she really and what do we know of her? Outside of the speculation and legends we read only this in Holy Scripture:

"Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him,and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out . . . "(Luke 8:2). 

The name Magdalene identifies her as from Magdala. Does this refer to Magadan, the name of a town appearing only in Matt. 15:39? The name Magdala means "tower" (Migdol in Hebrew). After feeding over 4,000 men, not including women and children, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus went by boat to the region of Magadan (Magdala?), Matthew reports. Magadan was a small fishing village between Capernaum and Tiberias. Mark, in a parallel to Matthew's report, calls it Dalmanutha (Mark 8:10). Confused yet? Me too. It seems that we know next to nothing about this little village of Magdala from which Mary came.

Of Mary Magdalene on the other hand the legends and apocryphal accounts abound. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia the name Magdala may come instead from a Talmudic expression meaning "curling women's hair." The idea is that she did this to attract men. If this is true then the name could connect her to the woman who came to Jesus begging for forgiveness (Luke 7:36-50). Of course, we have no reason to connect Mary to that woman. Indeed, the Talmudic expression was so pejorative and contemptible that one wonders if the disciples would have nicknamed her Mary, the hooker, especially given her exemplary role in following Jesus to the cross. We are left rather with the understanding that she was from Magdala and that Jesus had driven seven demons from her.

Ah, but then what does that mean? It refers to a worldview rejected by most of the educated and rational of our day. No one really believes that demons are real and that they can indeed occupy a human's body along with that person's soul do they? Of course not. That's but the stuff of entertaining exorcism movies. They make for good box office and plenty of scares, but do we really, really believe in such stuff? The Bible writers—and Jesus—certainly did. Here are some of the many examples of the casting out of demons or exorcism:

Psalm 106:37 - They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons 

Matt. 8:16 -That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.  

Matt. 8:31 - And the demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs." 

Matt. 12:24 - But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons." 

Mark 1:39 - And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. 

Luke 4:41 - And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

Those who reject these accounts as real and yet want to maintain a high view of the inspired nature of Scripture speak about them as accommodation. Jesus knew there are no real demons. He was rather accommodating himself to the prevailing and non-scientific notions of his day. Don Stewart in the Blue Letter Bible website points out that "this theory does not really take into account what the Bible says about itself. The Bible claims to be God's truth to humanity. It makes no distinction between the spiritual and the scientific."


Given that, one can readily see why Mary was so dedicated to Jesus. We don't know what the demons living within did to her. We can only imagine what it would be like to hear them in your heart and mind day upon day. The temptations, the guilt, the fear and anxiety, the utter darkness and despair—who wants to think about it? 


So in this week in which we continue with Christians around the world to rejoice in Christ's resurrection, we also pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the power of the devil and his hosts!" And we can be confident that He will, for His is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever! Hallelujah! Christ is risen!

Christ's Power In My Weakness

I am meditating upon the Biblical revelation about Satan and the demonic forces under his control. Today I invite you to consider what the Apostle Paul calls his thorn in the flesh. Here's what he writes:

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

These Bible verses continue to be much discussed. Here are some of the questions that arise:

• Who gave Paul his thorn in his flesh? 
• What was the nature of this thorn? 
• Why does he call it a messenger of Satan? Did Satan give it to him? And was it a live messenger or merely a message? 
• He pleads for the Lord Jesus to take it away and receives an answer. But how did the answer come? 
• What is grace promised? Is it the same as Christ's power?

In this chapter Paul refers to great revelations that occurred fourteen years earlier when he was caught up to the third heaven. He doesn't know whether it was a bodily catching up or something that he experienced in his spirit, without his body. That raises a whole host of questions about out of body experiences (OBE). There are even people who claim they can teach you certain techniques for triggering an OBE and, as you may have guessed, there are many books about near-death and out-of-body experiences. The whole thing is also called "astral projection." I hesitate to give you links to this information, lest you think that the Scripture and God's revelation speak of the same thing and approve of it, for it is but another of the many ways by which the demonic powers confuse and seduce people. For Paul this was an experience "in Christ," one reborn and renewed by Christ's saving grace (2 Cor. 5:17-21). It was not an experience he gained by his own magical or scientific technique.

Paul's experience was not something he sought. He writes about it in a passive tense. He hesitates even to name himself as the one who was caught up, although it is obvious he speaks about himself as the one who received these revelations. Where is this "third heaven" to which Paul journeyed? I have written some detailed Blogs about these questions. See Heaven and Parallel Universes and What And Where Is Heaven? Essentially Paul is saying that the third heaven is outside our atmosphere and beyond the heavens or universe out there among the stars. He was taken beyond the second and into a third heaven, into the very presence of God. There certain things were revealed to him that no mere mortal may discuss. Beyond that, we have no information about how it happened or where the third heaven is.

When did this happen? Paul says it took place "fourteen years ago". Some suggest that this occurred fourteen years prior to writing this letter when Paul was stoned and left for dead in Lystra (Acts 14:19-20). Near death, he traveled to the third heaven, but returned to his body and continued his mission work. Others suggest this was part of Paul's Damascus trance (Acts 22:17-21). We cannot speak about the incident Paul describes here with certainty, however, since there are no other references to it in the New Testament. It may indeed have been a unique experience and not refer to anything mentioned in the book of Acts.

All this is background to our questions about Paul's thorn and Satan's messenger.

The word for messenger in Greek is our word 'angel'. Some speculate that Satan sent a particular demon, a fallen angel, to attack the Apostle. We know that demonic influence upon unbelievers and believers alike can be great. They who give themselves to this influence can also eventually become completely possessed by one or many demons (Mark 5:7-15). In Paul's case, the demons operated through men and the attacks were relentless.

What was the nature of those attacks? He defines them in v. 10 when he writes "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities." In the previous chapter we read of the Judaizers who sought to discredit his apostleship and thus undermine the work of the Gospel among the Gentiles (2 Cor. 11:13-15). They said, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account." Again and again Paul was mocked, reproached, persecuted, stoned, shipwrecked, etc. He details these experiences in the previous chapter (2 Corinthians 11:23-33).

In addition to the organized opposition he encountered Paul had some kind of physical weakness (Galatians 4:13-14). Was it poor eyesight (Galatians 6:11)? Did he have a high pitched voice? Did he lack in oratory skills (1 Corinthians 2:1-4)? Did he have malaria? We don't know. The point, however, is that Paul's demon attacked him both physically and spiritually until he was beaten down to the point of exhaustion.

The lesson for us today? Satan and  his minions want to devour you like a ravenous lion devours its prey (1 Peter 5:8). He wants nothing less than to overwhelm your heart and soul with disappointment, despair and hopelessness. He wants to weigh you down until you can no longer arise. He wants to convince you that life is meaningless and that there is nothing for which to hope. He wants you to curse God and die (Job 2:9). Once that happens he has you for all eternity and can forever feed upon your wretched and  helpless soul.

To accomplish this the demons attack us when we are physically and spiritually weak. They taunt and tempt us to abandon our faith in God and His undeserved mercy in Christ. In these times we do well to learn with Paul to rejoice in our weaknesses and throw ourselves completely upon Christ's mercy. Then we will learn of Christ's power at work in us and not our own. Then will we learn of the strength and power that does not reside in us, but comes from beyond us. Then will we learn to say with Paul, "I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

The New Testament Takes Demons Seriously

During the past week Bob Schwarz wrote about the Zulu pastor who performed an exorcism in South Africa. I followed with a note about the current fascination with demons, etc. in our culture and promised some follow up. Before going into that in detail here is a of list some of the main Bible passages that point to the existence of Satan and his minions in the New Testament. Its quite long, to say the least. My point: if you take the N.T. seriously, you're going to have to deal with the presence and power of demons.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.  Ephesians 6:10-18

¹⁵Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.  Mark 4:15

¹⁸He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  Luke 10:18-19

¹⁶Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”  Luke 13:16

 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. ³²But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  Luke 22:31-32

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? ⁴Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”  Acts 5:3-4

²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  Romans 16:20

If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.  2 Corinthians 2:10, 11

⁷To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  2 Corinthians 12:7-9

¹⁸For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. ¹⁹For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? ²⁰Indeed, you are our glory and joy.  1 Thessalonians 2:18-19

⁹The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, ¹⁰and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹²and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

¹⁸Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, ¹⁹holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. ²⁰Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. 1 Timothy 1:18-20

So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. ¹⁵Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan. 1 Timothy 5:14-15

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’  Matthew 6:13

⁴³“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” Matthew 12:43-45

³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.  Matthew 13:38-39

⁷Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. Mark 6:7

¹⁵My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. John 17:15

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. ¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.  James 3:13-18

¹⁸We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. ¹⁹We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.  1John 5:18-19

²⁶“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold.  Ephesians 4:26-27

⁸Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. ¹⁰And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:8-11

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:16-19

Demons Are In The News

The end of last week and the first of this, I posted three guest blogs by my friend Bob Schwarz about a Zulu Lutheran pastor who reported the successful exorcism of demons in Africa. The questions that remain here in the United States—and elsewhere—have to do with the reality of this experience. Did it really happen? Are there indeed such beings as demons that can and do occupy the souls of others?

No matter what I say there will be those who simply deny the existence of evil spirits or demons. It does not fit into their worldview. Others go further and claim that such things are entertaining fantasy, like pretending there are dragons, vampires and Harry Potter. It is a big piece of today's entertainment industry. Samples:

• Vampires—background
• The pilot for the Dan Curtis 1972 television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker revolved around reporter Carl Kolchak hunting a vampire on the Las Vegas strip. Later films showed more diversity in plotline, with some focusing on the vampire-hunter, such as Blade in the Marvel Comics' Blade films and the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy, released in 1992, foreshadowed a vampiric presence on television, with adaptation to a long-running hit TV series of the same name and its spin-off Angel. Still others showed the vampire as protagonist, such as 1983's The Hunger, 1994's Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles and its indirect sequel of sorts Queen of the Damned, and the 2007 series Moonlight. Bram Stoker's Dracula was a noteworthy 1992 film which became the then-highest grossing vampire film ever.^[162] This increase of interest in vampiric plotlines led to the vampire being depicted in movies such as Underworld and Van Helsing, and the Russian Night Watch and a TV miniseries remake of 'Salem's Lot, both from 2004. The series Blood Ties premiered on Lifetime Television in 2007, featuring a character portrayed as Henry Fitzroy, illegitimate son of Henry VIII of England turned vampire, in modern-day Toronto, with a female former Toronto detective in the starring role. A 2008 series from HBO, entitled True Blood, gives a Southern take to the vampire theme.^[158] Another popular vampire-related show is CW's The Vampire Diaries. The continuing popularity of the vampire theme has been ascribed to a combination of two factors: the representation of sexuality and the perennial dread of mortality.^[163] Another "vampiric" series that has recently come out is the Twilight Saga, a series of films based on the book series of the same name.
• The Discovery Channel - Real Life Exorcisms 

News of the Roman Catholic church training priests to be exorcists has been widely publicized recently. Last November you may have read that "Overwhelmed with requests for exorcists, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are holding a special training workshop in Baltimore this weekend to teach clerics the esoteric rite, the Catholic News Service reported."

For Lutherans the sole source of teaching about such things is the inspired Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. In the next days I'll access that Word to discuss and apply what the Holy Spirit says about these rebel spirits and what that means for us believers in Christ. 

More on Spiritual Warfare

In recent posts I invited you to join me in researching the spiritual warfare that went on in the 20th century and continues to the present. All this is in preparation for a paper I have agreed to present to a group of pastors the first part of next year. 

Before going further, I want to take another look at what the Apostle Paul says about spiritual warfare, especially in Ephesians 6:10-20. 

Let's look at the question of wrestling in v. 12, a Greco-Roman sport that continues to the present. Learning to wrestle in that violent manner was part of every soldier's training in those ancient days. Wrestling, like much of ancient warfare, was a one on one affair, a contest between two in which each tries to throw the other. The contest was decided when the victor was able to throw his antagonist to the floor and hold him flat down. The particular Greek word the Apostle uses (palay) is found only here in the New Testament. It seems to come from a verb that means to scatter, throw or pour. In the ancient Olympics wrestling was a no-holds barred event known as the pankration ("all-powerful"). Things such as kicking, joint dislocation, bone breaking, hair pulling, strangling, and other brutalities were allowed. Biting and eye gouging were not allowed in national competitions. The sole object was to force an opponent into defeat, to make him give up. The loser often ended up maimed or even dead. 

The only place in the Bible where you can read about any kind of wrestling match is in Genesis 32:24-32, where Jacob wrestles all night with a mysterious man who puts his hip out of joint. The Hebrew word for wrestling in that place is abaq. The word has the same sense of struggling, pounding and rolling around on the ground in a wrestling match like the Apostle describes in Ephesians 6. The Greek O.T. uses a verb form of Paul's wrestle noun to translate the Hebrew. 

So what was this wrestling match "with God" (Gen.32:28) all about? It was about an earlier conflict between Jacob and his brother Esau. By trickery Jacob, whose very name meant 'deceiver', was able to obtain to steal his brother's birthright as the first born and his father Isaac's blessing as well (Genesis 27:1-20). In fear of death, Jacob fled to his uncle Laban where he ended up marrying both of Laban's daughters and working for him for many years. Now he is returning home, blessed with many children and wealthy, but humbled and and renewed in faith. Upon hearing that his brother Esau was coming out to meet him with 400 armed men, he sends his family and servants on ahead, praying that Esau will not kill them all and remains behind on the bank of the Jordan River to struggle with God. 

Something very profound and meaningful happened that night as Jacob, the deceiver and sinner, struggled with his God. Instead of being destroyed by this face to face encounter with God, Jacob was blessed again. He said, "I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered" (Gen.32:30). The encounter was so profound that Jacob receives a new identity and a new name. Henceforth his name is Israel, he who wrestles with God. 

Paul says we all wrestle, but not only with God. He says our face to face mortal battle is particularly also against the devil and his minions (Ephesians 6:11-12). Does that imply that we do not wrestle with God? Indeed not. It rather means that we who claim the new name 'Christian' (one of Christ's) have been wrestled to the ground and defeated by the Lord Jesus, the same Lord that met Jacob on the shores of the Jordan river. It means that we have given up on any hope of rescuing and redeeming ourselves from the folly of our sinful ways. Our only hope for this life and that to come is the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Christ has killed the old man in us and in this spiritual death we receive the blessing of new life, a new identity in Christ and the strength needed for that one on one wrestling match we each have with the demons sent against us by the devil. Strangely, the old sinful man arises again each day to align himself with the devil and the wrestling starts all over (Romans 6:1-12), both with God and particularly with the demon or demons assigned to us individually. 

Here then is also where we must start as we discuss those one on one attacks that come at believers, spiritual attacks that have their origins in the past century or earlier and that continue into the present. No one can merely be objective or 'scientific' as he looks at this struggle, for each one of us is existentially involved.

Communicating with the World of the Spirit

In yesterday's Blog I told Meridith that Christians (and Jews, I might add) have always believed that the Word of God is the way by which God communicates with us. That is to say, the Word of God is the means by which He makes His will known to us.

The phrase 'Word of God' has a dual meaning among us:

• It refers to the sacred or holy writings. To call the writings 'holy' is to say they are separate and distinct from all other writings. They are set aside for God's purposes. In the N.T. that word is used only twice, once in 1 Corinthians 9:13 where it refers to those who handle sacrificial offerings and work in the Temple. Theirs was a very distinct job, different from all others. The other place is 2 Timothy 3:15-17 where the Apostle calls the Scripture—the O.T. Scripture at that moment—holy. In other words, these are distinct and separate words, set aside for God's service. I won't discuss here which writings of the O.T. are or are not considered God's holy Word. My only point is that Christians have from the beginning considered these Scriptures as God's Word, His way of communicating with us.
• Word of God also refers to Jesus. This concept is lifted up especially in the Gospel of John, for instance John 1:1-18; 6:63-68; 10:27-30. Jesus is the Word of God and the words he speaks are the words of eternal life. He is God's living, personal Word to us. He spoke and continues to speak through his life, his teachings, his sacrifice upon the cross and his glorious resurrection from the dead.

We could go into much detail here about the meaning of inspiration. I won't. Suffice it to say that Lutherans, together with the ancient church, emphasize that God deals with us exclusively by means of his external Word and sacrament, e.g. the Lord's Supper. Everyone who boasts of receiving communication from God's Spirit apart from this Word is of the devil (Smalcald Articles 8:9-13)


In that sense it must not surprise us that other religions have retained the idea or concept that their gods who dwell in the spirit world are ready and willing to communicate with men through symbols and words. Words are, after all, nothing less than symbols put together in a wide variety of ways to convey ideas, concepts, thoughts and feelings. Why should the 'gods' not use them to speak?

Thus the runes, for instance, were viewed by the Norse, Celtic and Germanic peoples as sacred or holy, because through them the gods spoke. So those ancient worshipers—and their modern counterparts—held that the runes are a way to both discover the will of the gods AND to use spiritual power to heal or bring spells upon men, animals or plants. They even talk today about scientific magickal technology!  Supposedly, with the proper understanding of how to use the runes you can discover the future, weave spells, wield power and gain wealth.

We Christians are very wary, therefore, of the use of such symbols, symbolical actions and 'sacred' words by those who have not been reborn by the power and work of the Holy Spirit to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. Paul says that such faith comes from hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:1-17).


We flee from Tarot cards, OuiJa boards, special charms, mediums, wizardry, seances and all other such things. Moses, speaking for God, strongly warns Israel away from such practices so common among the heathen in the land they were about to occupy (Deuteronomy 18:9-14).


In all these matters we are dealing with demons and demonic forces. Against them, without the full armor of God and alone, we are helpless (Ephesians 6:10-18). Note in the Ephesians passage that the Apostle speaks about 'you' in the plural, not in the singular. When he says "so that you will be able to resist" he speaks about you in the plural. We never go up against demonic forces alone, but rather together, protected by God's armor and praying with and for one another.

Werewolves, Vampires and Demons—Oh My!

Since I brought up the subject of demons and evil spirits in my previous blog, I suppose I must—reluctantly—say a few things more about it.

It seems that our culture is obsessed with the demonic, dark and evil—even while we seemingly deny the existence of actual demon possession, or at least mock the idea. A few recent cases in point:

• Legion - a new sci-fi movie about the threatening apocalypse
• Werewolf movies—New Moon
• Vampire movies and books by the ton.

The list goes endlessly on.

 

Problem: it's entertainment. We love to be scared for a while and then get back to real life.

 

Real problem: The Bible says this IS real life! Demons, the devil and evil spirits of many kinds not only exist, they run the show and are in control of the world. Some information from God's revealed Word:

• Luke 4 -  the devil insists that he has been given all the kingdoms of this world and offers them to Jesus if he would but worship the prince of this world (Luke 4:5-8).

• John 12 - Jesus acknowledges that satan is the ruler of this world whom Jesus has come to cast out (John 12:31).

• John 14 - Satan was at work through the schemes of those who crucified Jesus. He, however, had no power over or claim on Jesus (John 14:30).

• Colossians 1 - Jesus has delivered believers from the domination and power of darkness and transferred them to His kingdom and authority (Colossians 1:33).

This list also goes on and on. I speak not of mere entertainment and the rush of adrenaline. We all need to take a long, hard and very careful look at what is going on behind the scenes and in the shadows. And then ask the personal question, "Who is MY king and to whom do I owe allegiance?