Excluding the people who think we’re living in some kind of computer simulation, just about everyone believes the physical realm is real. Most Americans also believe in some form of spiritual reality, but while the majority of people conceive of those realities as separate from one another, the Bible suggests that the physical and spiritual realms overlap. In the Christian worldview, the physical world we inhabit is being influenced by spiritual forces – both good and evil – that are engaged in combat with each other.
On one side are God and what the Bible calls His heavenly host, a word that really means army, which includes the angels, the cherubim and seraphim, and on the other side are Satan and his army, which the Bible calls demons. Scripture doesn’t provide much detail on the origins of Satan or demons, but there is some indication that Satan was an angel of God who led a rebellion against God and was banished from heaven and cast down to the earth.
Wherever Satan came from, and whatever or whoever his demons are, one thing is very clear: Jesus came to wage war against them. You can’t take Jesus and his message seriously without taking Satan and his demons seriously. But truth be told, most of us don’t take the Devil seriously; to most of us, Satan has become a joke. It’s hard to even say the word Satan in most social settings without eliciting a wry smile or a chuckle.
It has been my experience that the more comfortable, more educated, and wealthier a person gets, the less likely they are to believe in the Devil. The same may be said for churches: the more comfortable and privileged the church’s setting, the less you’ll typically hear about Satan and demons. I even remember learning in my Methodist seminary that no serious scholars actually believe in demons anymore. “Whenever Jesus cast out demons,” my professors used to say, “he was actually just healing mental illness and epilepsy.” More recently, I’ve heard pastors of large United Methodist congregations saying the same thing.
Over the past few years, I’ve grown increasingly wary of snobby sophisticates who cling to their power through the art of smart-splaining away spiritual things. People who say things like, “Actually, Jesus wasn’t casting out demons.” And, “Actually, Jesus was healing schizophrenia.”
Actually, no. The truth of the matter is that the real Jesus scares some people because he couldn’t care less about the titles and esteem they’ve spent their whole lives chasing, so they would rather fabricate a fake Jesus than believe in the real one.
And maybe this domesticated demystification of Jesus and Satan is exactly what the Enemy wants. Maybe Satan doesn’t need to make us all Satanists; maybe all he wants is to make us agnostic and apathetic about everything. In his classic book The Screwtape Letters, CS Lewis imagines a senior demon in Satan’s army coaching a lesser demon on how to secure a man’s soul in hell for eternity. Screwtape says, “It’s funny how they always picture us putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.”
Let’s look at how Jesus dealt with demons in the spiritual realm:
When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. – Matthew 8:28-34
This story falls on our ears a bit differently than it fell on the ears of first-century Jews. If you can get past Jesus’ apparent cruelty toward pigs, you’ll see that the point of this story is that it’s unacceptable to God for demons to take up residence in a human being made in God’s image. Jesus is saying that a herd of filthy pigs jumping off a cliff, plunging to their death is exactly where demons belong. Because remember: Jesus didn’t come to play nice; he came to wage war. And when he came, he didn’t merely assume a defensive position against Satan; he led an assault against the gates of hell.
The great thing about following Jesus is that he’s always one step ahead of the enemy. The enemy knew his purpose, but he didn’t know the plan. The plan was pure genius. Death is Satan’s favorite thing; so what was God’s plan through Jesus? To die. And when Jesus died on the cross, hell erupted with celebration. God used Satan’s favorite thing against him in the greatest surprise attack in military history.
Jesus didn’t come to battle with just a shield; he came to fight evil with a sword. Which is why I just don’t get how following Jesus became so boring. We dress up to go to church. We learn to behave at church. We often take a posture of fear at church. Oh my…the world is such a scary place. That’s what happens when you domesticate Jesus; you domesticate his followers even more.
It’s important to note here that those demons knew Jesus. They know who he was (the Son of God), and what his purpose in life was (to destroy them). It’s important because if the demons knew Jesus’ identity and purpose, then you should assume they know yours, too. Your enemy knows almost everything about you – including your weaknesses. So if you’re a Christian, and your purpose is to spend your whole life spreading the gospel of Jesus, but you have a weakness for lust, or greed, or pride, or anger, or alcohol, your enemy knows that and will leverage your weakness against you.
We need to understand that following Jesus means more than just going to church a couple of times a month for the rest of your life; it means enlisting yourself in a war and engaging daily in the fight of your life. It is to struggle against death, demons, and despair and to confront evil in all its forms. But don’t worry, and do not be afraid. Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He will always be with us!
But he is calling us to the fight. He is calling you to the battle. The only question that remains is this: “How and when will you stand up and, in the name of Jesus, vanquish the Darkness with the Light of Christ?”
