KNOW YOUR FAITH, LIVE YOUR FAITH,TEACH YOUR FAITH!

As Christians we believe that God is real. We also believe that there are dark and demonic forces that oppose God. But some people live their life as if Satan did not exist and that no forces of darkness surround us. Do they? Should we be concerned? What should be our response? Let’s take a deeper look into this often-ignored topic.

 

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

 

Are there really dark and demonic forces around us? Should we be weary and vigilant of such evils as if they were to be taken seriously? For as long as humanity has existed, there has always been an understanding that forces of darkness exist and they are indeed very real. As Christians, we know that Satan fell from heaven and with him a group of angelic beings and that these now form the demonic forces that oppose God and all His creation. These same demonic forces are those that torment humanity and do so with the intention of resisting the goodness of their creator, the Lord our God. Now somehow, as time as passed and societies claim to be more and more advanced and civilized, we have moved away from all that is spiritual. Not just a movement away from the belief in God, but also denying the existence of evil forces. Some claim these sorts of beliefs are nothing more than old wives tales intended to scare children into submission, others believe that they are nothing more than religious propaganda. But as Christians, its is of extreme importance that we acknowledge the existence of such forces and that we be vigilant against their attempts of spiritual warfare against us. But how can we be vigilant if everything around us seems to imply that there is no such thing as demonic and dark forces?

 

In his very well-known novel, the Screwtape letters, C.S. Lewis makes a statement about the demon’s desire to remain unknown and disguised from the world. He explains that their policy is to remain hidden. The main character, the demon called Screwtape then says

 

“I have great hopes we shall learn in due time how to emotionalize and mythologies their science to such an extent that what is, in effect, belief in us […] will creep in while the human mind remains closed to belief in [God].” (Screwtape Letters – chapter 8)

 

I believe that time has come. We now live in secular and materialistic society that rejects the need for God, and yet it embraces the demonic while never acknowledging the existence of the spiritual realities. Let’s examine just a few of ways by which these demonic spiritual forces surround us.

 

The devil has always connivingly implanted himself among people while doing one of two things: 1 – Making them believe that he was never there and that his existence is impossible and even foolish to consider. 2 – Diminishing the impact or seriousness of dabbling with the dark and demonic forces by acting as if they were harmless or as if they were purely for entertainment purposes.

 

Take for instance how today, someone can walk into a bookstore and for under 15$ purchase a book on witchcraft, charms, and spells. And thanks to Hollywood that glamourizes and renders such things as fantasy, many think this is a childish and innocent hobby. And yet, human history and specifically the experience of the church teaches us that such things open up a door within the soul that then gives a foothold for the devil to begin doing his demonic work.

 

Another example is how the devil has managed to introduce the dark spiritual realities in the form of toys and playful objects. Any child above the age of 8 can now be gifted a Ouija board sold in every big box toy store in north America. This same object was originally designed to call on the dead as a means of speaking to spirits. Now some will argue that this is all fake and simply for entertainment. Meanwhile the Church recognizes it as truly dangerous means by which a person is interacting with the occult. Another example of this is tarot cards, tea leaf readings, and other forms of divination and fortune telling seances. So many people claim that this is innocent and meaningless, and yet as Christians we know the power that the evil one can have over all those who allow for such things to enter their lives.

 

In Deutronomy chapter 18, the Lord is speaking to his people that are now surrounded by those who call on spirits, practice sorcery and divination, and the Lord tells his people do not do as they do – for all these things are an abomination.

 

“10 No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord; it is because of such abhorrent practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You must remain completely loyal to the Lord your God. 14 Although these nations that you are about to dispossess do give heed to soothsayers and diviners, as for you, the Lord your God does not permit you to do so.” (Deuteronomy 18: 10-14)

 

In those days it was common for people to cast spells, call on spirits, and attempt to tell the future. They practiced such rituals by lighting candles, burning themselves, cutting themselves, offering sacrifices and even drinking blood. They did not shy away from saying that all this was done through the dark forces, and so the Lord tells his people that they must at all costs stay away from such things as they are an abomination to him. And yet today, these practices remain, people still very much do them, but they blatantly deny the existence of evil spirits – hoping that all are deceived that no one recognizes the dangers.

 

Do not be fooled my beloved into thinking that making offerings, the use of blood, or outright worship are all things of the past – not at all! They things continue to surround us even now in every place of the world. And now more and more, the desensitized world we live in is not even seeing the dangers of the things that are being done publicly.

 

In 2021 we have seen a rapper team up with a New York based company to launch a shoe that is dedicated to Satan, that has exactly 666 pairs made containing real human blood within them. These shoes were sold in record time and are considered a rare collectible. This same musician is seen in a music video falling from paradise, going to hell, pleasing Satan himself only then to steal the devil’s crown. Again, more and more attempts of desensitizing an entire generation to thinking this is just artistic expression, when in reality, we are offering our time, our energy, our money and now even our artistic expressions to the demonic.

 

More recently, a megastar couple from Hollywood came out publicly declaring that they practice seances and rituals where they drink each other’s blood. When asked, the female star confirmed that they do indeed drink a few drops of each others blood on occasion for ritual purposes only. These are the same ritual practices that many in the occult practice as they denounce God and embrace the demonic. None of this is new! All of these rituals were always rejected by Christians as satanic and are only now resurfacing as new and trendy behaviors among the so-called elite of our society.

 

And again, just this month in Birmingham during the Commonwealth games, a giant mechanical bull standing over 30 feet high, was rolled in during the opening ceremony. At first the bull terrorizes the actors who are terrified of him, until suddenly the bulls is subdued by a woman holding a crystal, and then all actors representing the nations, they all fall down and worship the bull having now been reconciled to him. What is it that we are seeing here? What symbolism is being depicted? Again, many will argue this is nothing more than artistic expression, and yet for every Christian who knows human history, we see right through this and recognize it as yet another means by which the world is allowing for Satan to make his way into people’s lives and even promoting submission to him.

 

All of these, and many more examples exist of how we are surrounded by so much darkness that is being portrayed as harmless and even glamorous while it brings within it a very dark and evil force that only the Lord our God can cast out.

 

We cannot speak of dark forces without also speaking of spells, demonization, and even full-blown demonic procession. While some people argue that there is no such thing, others say its religious superstition, or that these are nothing more than people’s mental illnesses, the Church is fully aware of what we are dealing with and what is actually at steak.

 

To be clear, all of these things are indeed very real, and they surround us even in places like North America. Spells and curses are real, and many suffer from them. Many people in their own homes or places of work are terrorized by demons. And yes, there are even those who are possessed by devils and need the intervention of the God to be freed from these very real evil spirits. The good news is that JESUS IS LORD. Our God is victorious, He is King, and every knee in heaven and earth will bow down to Him and recognize Him as God Almighty. While to fight such things is a very arduous spiritual battle, through the intervention of God and his Holy Church, victory is granted to every case where the person involved is willing to recognize Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

 

So rest assured my beloved, we are indeed surrounded by demonic and dark forces that are at work in a variety of crafty and discreet ways. It is up to us to open our eyes and view things as they really are. And in so doing, we as Christians have no need to be afraid. For it is in Christ that we have victory. Its is the words of Paul that give us courage:

 

“37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 37-38)

 

Amen! Nothing can separate us. While we know these forces are real, we know our God is greater. For as we were taught in the life of St Moses the Strong, “those who are for us, are much greater than those who are against us…”