Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Yes, they do know the Name

By whose authority do we pray? By whose authority do we wage war in spiritual realms? By whose name and under whose life do we live?

I guess it seems to me that we are far too timid in this area of prayer and spiritual warfare, and I have been pondering another aspect of it- which I feel necessary to present to you in hope that you take this seriously and understand that we are not meant to live in bondage but freedom, we are not meant to live in fear but confidence and with boldness.

It is understood that angels, and thus, demons, are spiritual, and in this existence, beyond destruction by anything other than their Creator, who has chosen not to do such a thing by His own reasoning and purposes. In this understanding, we also realize that angels and demons do not reproduce. They are static beings, having made their alliances previously in time and from then on not moving or reproducing. I guess I hadn’t realized it or thought about it before, but that means that the same angels and demons that were present both at Creation and the fall are still in existence and still interacting with this physical earth. Think about that. Theoretically, the same demons that plagued humanity during Babel’s rule and the same Angels that Elisha witnessed in the Old Testament are still present and active today!

What does this mean? Well, think about it. Demons do not change their ways… I suppose that the same demons and their respective afflictions that were present in history still move and act in those afflictions today. Let me put it this way: I suppose that the same demons that whispered in the ears of priests and women to sacrifice their unborn or newly born children to idols and dark spirits still do the same to women and doctors today, with a new method- abortion. Yes, that makes me believe that abortion is nothing more than child-sacrifice masked with “medical” assurance. Puts things in a new light, huh?

Here is the flip-side. The same demons that Jesus cast out or people and bound to abstain from affliction were defeated then by an omnipotent and omnipresent Savior, such Savior by the name Jesus who is also still active and present in the lives of humanity, they have been defeated at one time in history- why do we give them liberty to afflict at this time? I think it is because we don’t realize this fact- just because we were born without knowledge of this ever present and ever powerful Savior does not mean that demons are- in fact, they are imminently more aware of Who our God is than we are and thus incredibly more aware of His ability to remove their presence at this time just as He did throughout history. Do we think demons are born? As if somehow demons and afflicting spirits are without direct knowledge of God and His abilities? If so then we live giving them an advantage and paving the way for their work to be accomplished.

Let us take the Name of this God to them, for they not only know the name but the presence. The same one third who followed Lucifer are the same one third that exist today (just in that fact alone we ought realize that there are twice as many angels as there are demons), and they have all worked the same way throughout history and each has been defeated at one time or another by our Lord Jesus Christ. Which demon or affliction did He not exercise His authority and power over? Which demons has ever heard His name and forgotten to shudder in remembrance of their last encounter with Him? It is in this same name that we pray for healings and deliverance. It is in this same name that we wage war. It is in this same name that His kingdom forcefully advances. Let us be encouraged in greater faith to understand our foe is more familiar with the power of our God than we are, they have had six thousand years of observation, and they all shook the day He overcame death and rose in glory.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Get this: I just listened to "The Screwtape Letters" earlier this week. How crazy is that? So I've been thinking on some of these lines as well.
This is a well written article. The title reminds me of how the demons in "The Screwtape Letters" never refer to God by name, preferring the term "The Enemy."
When you think about it, how many demons working against us today still remember their defeat at The Cross? I have a feeling most of them where there, thinking they had won. Now its just a matter of time before Christ the Conqueror returns to finish the victory that has already been obtained. I'm sure that demons hate us even thinking about it, let alone using it to encourage one another and to confound their efforts against us today.