Using Paul’s tactics for spiritual warfare is more important than ever.
Stroking the soft fur of the tiny black-and-white kitten, Steve Newberry and his teenage friends carried the playful animal to a secluded spot in the Missouri countryside. Putting the kitten in a sack and hanging it from a tree, the four boys took turns hitting it like a piñata until the animal was dead.
They had killed and mutilated many animals before as part of satanic rituals. This time three of them sought to enter a new level of devotion to Satan—they turned on Steve. Jim Hardy struck the first violent blow. Immediately the other two Carl Junction High School boys joined in swinging their baseball bats in a frenzied bludgeoning of Steve. Afterward, they dragged Steve’s limp body to a cistern and dumped it. The boys were soon apprehended, and one of them, Pete Roland, confessed to the horrific December 6, 1987, murder.
Their motive? A sacrifice to Satan. Jim Hardy claims that Satan had promised him a surge of power for the ultimate proof of his loyalty—taking the life of a human being. In a nationally televised interview, Pete Roland similarly claimed that Satan promised him power in return for killing. All three boys, who turned 18 in prison, are serving life sentences without parole.
From the Night Stalker slayings of Richard Ramirez to the drug-cult murders in Matamoros, Mexico, satanism is gaining increasing publicity for its frequent tie to ritual killings. Police officers throughout the country are now receiving training in identifying crimes related to the occult.
But is there anything to it? For the Carl Junction boys, certainly many of their murderous ideas came from the satanic themes in the heavy-metal music they listened to. Horror movies, drugs, and alcohol were probably also contributing factors. But the boys themselves attribute their lust for killing directly to Satan. They referred repeatedly to voices inside their heads urging them to kill. Because they believed they heard the voice of Satan himself, they sought to please him.
Now, more than ever, we need to take a fresh look at Scripture to inform our understanding of the unseen world of demons and angels. According to Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, all Christians are engaged in a dangerous struggle with this unseen dimension (6:12). How do we detect their hostile activity? How do we protect ourselves and our children from their influence?
Satan’S Kingdom
The Bible never explicitly addresses the origin of evil spirits or their ruler, Satan. The biblical writers are far more concerned about the fact of their existence than with speculations about how they rebelled against God. Yet there is a unanimous opinion that Satan is not an equal with God. While Satan and his forces oppose God, there is never a hint he could possibly win. The end is certain; God is sovereign.
Nearly everyone living in the Mediterranean world during the Old and New Testament eras—Jews, Greeks, Romans, Asians, and Egyptians—believed in the existence of evil spirits. Rather than questioning the existence of demons, people sought ways to control these spirits and to protect themselves. Most people, regardless of religious background (even among Jews), believed magic was helpful.
It was in this environment that Jesus ministered and the early church came into existence. Jesus and the early Christian writers shared their peers’ belief in evil spirits, but with some important modifications. They believed there was only one true God, the God of Israel. They believed that the “gods” of pagan religions were really the manifestation and working of demons, opponents of the one true God working a deceptive influence. They believed that these evil spirits were organized under the leadership of the one prime adversary—Satan. Further, the early Christians believed that the practice of magic, witchcraft, and sorcery—popular among the common people—represented the work of Satan and his forces.
In addition, Scripture assumes some kind of hierarchy within the realm of the hostile supernatural powers, but it never gives any delineation of the chain of command. Satan is “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Eph. 2:2, NIV) and he has within his sphere of authority a vast group of powers, dominions, thrones, angels, demons, unclean spirits, elemental spirits, and rulers.
The Scriptures never portray evil spirits as possessing their own bodies; rather, they work their influence in the lives and bodies of people. For instance, John tells us that Satan “entered into” Judas in order to betray Jesus (John 13:27). The account of the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1–20) demonstrates that a person can be afflicted by more than one evil spirit at a time, perhaps even hundreds. All of the exorcism stories also portray evil spirits as intelligent and capable of exercising will. They frequently talk to Jesus, usually expressing their fear, by speaking through their victims’ vocal apparatus. Satan is depicted as a clever strategist constantly plotting against the purposes of God.
Demons On The Loose
The best way of summarizing the activity of evil spirits is to say that they stand for everything that is contrary to God’s purposes and the welfare of his people. Whereas God creates life, the forces of darkness are bent on destroying life; Jesus claimed that the Devil was “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Whereas God is holy and seeks virtue in his people, Satan’s hosts are evil and seek to promote every imaginable vice.
The powers work on every level—from influencing individuals to exerting control over the social order. Since his success with Adam and Eve in the garden, the classic activity of Satan and his powers is the activity of enticing individuals to act in ways contrary to the revealed will of God. This has garnered him the title “Tempter” (1 Thess. 3:5). While the Bible does not describe in a precise way how Satan tempts people, it appears that he does so through exploiting each person’s inner tendency toward evil (what Paul calls “the flesh”).
Part of his method entails the use of deceit. Jesus says, “When [Satan] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, NIV; see Rev. 20:10). Satan can poison what people believe to be true about themselves and God.
Through temptation, deceit, and other methods, “the god of this age” tries also to blind unbelievers to the good news of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross (2 Cor. 4:4). Some people have been victimized to such an extent that an evil spirit (or group of spirits) may exercise an exceptionally high level of control over their lives. The Gospels and Acts refer to these people as “demonized.” Jesus and his disciples engage in a spiritual intervention for such people through which the spirits were “cast out.” The New Testament epistles, however, stress the need for believers to draw on their close relationship with Christ and the power of his Spirit as the primary means for resisting the influence of evil spirits.
The Bible speaks of the work of evil spirits as extending even to entire nations. The Book of Daniel reveals that evil spirits were assigned both to Persia and Greece (Dan. 10:13, 21). While the New Testament does not elaborate on this idea, it does refer to the Devil as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan and his forces can exert their influence on the social, economic, political, and even religious order within a culture. This is what John and Paul have in mind when they speak of “the world” or “this age.”
The apostle Paul was convinced that the powers of darkness were active in non-Christian religions. He sternly warns the Corinthians to avoid participation in pagan sacrifices, since “the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons” (1 Cor. 10:20, NIV). Paul thus urged the Corinthians to “flee from idolatry” (10:14).
Throughout his ministry, the apostle Paul struggled against perverted understandings of Christ and his atoning work that crept into the churches. Paul implies that the false teachings influencing the churches at Colossae and Corinth were demonically inspired (2 Cor. 10:4; 6:14–17; Col. 2:8). In principle, it appears from Paul’s teaching that Satan works especially hard at perverting common perceptions of the true nature of the gospel.
Missions and the Demonic
The concept of “power encounter,” in which evangelism is seen as a battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, has emerged across denominational lines as an increasingly significant part of evangelical missions strategy. J. Dudley Woodberry, professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, notes that “exorcism seems to be a significant part of conversions from Islam, particularly from the people we would call folk Muslims, where they are already in many cases involved in some kind of demonization, be it real or imagined.”
Samuel Olson, pastor of the nondenominational Las Acacias Church in Caracas, Venezuela, experienced his first “power encounter” while working in a drug rehabilitation center. While praying for a 15-year-old addict, Olson watched the boy curl up in a ball and crawl around the floor, all the while talking to Satan. The boy claimed that he had given his life to the Devil a couple of years before and that he could not give up this allegiance. Back then, Olson was frightened, not sure what to do. In his counseling ministry today, he averages three exorcisms a week.
In Africa, many Christians are turning back to practitioners of traditional religion (animism, spiritism) in times of crisis. Missiologist Timothy Warner, of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, points to the early church practice of exorcism of demons and a clear renunciation of Satan as an integral part of their ritual of conversion and baptism. “It’s tragic that on the mission field, particularly, we haven’t had this dramatization of turning from Satan and giving ourselves to the Lord. We have them squeak by on some minimal act of affirmation of Jesus, and it’s no wonder they go on having problems.” Warner thinks the problem is that “our world view says that spirits are not real.” Missiologist C. Peter Wagner agrees: “Many Southern Baptist missionaries are seeing tremendous acts of God out on the mission field, but say that they can’t talk about it here [in North America].”
In 1982, Fuller’s School of World Mission brought power encounters to the classroom with “MC510: Signs and Wonders,” taught by Wagner and John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard movement. The controversial course was suspended in 1985, primarily due to objections raised by Fuller’s School of Theology about the classroom being used as a “lab” where healings and the casting out of demons took place. Fuller reorganized the course in 1987, moving the practicum to local churches.
Fuller now has five courses related to the subject, and many “Signs and Wonders” alumni have initiated similar courses across North America in the past few years. This renewed interest in the role of the demonic in the world has trickled down into the pews so that many churchgoers are now re-evaluating what they think about the issue.
Arthur D. Moore is staff writer for Evangelical Missions Information Service in Wheaton, Illinois.
What Did The Cross Accomplish?
The New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus’ death, resurrection, and exaltation marked the decisive victory of Jesus over Satan and the powers of darkness (Eph. 1:20–22; Phil. 2:9–11; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14). The author of 1 John expresses it succinctly, “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the work of the devil” (3:8).
Nowhere in the New Testament is Christ’s victory over the powers of darkness given fuller expression than in Colossians 2:15: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (NIV). Having sought to frustrate the redemptive plan of God by instigating the death of Christ on the cross, the powers of darkness unwittingly became mere instruments in God’s hands. Christ rose from the dead and assumed the position of “head” over a new body—a body of people in union with himself who would now spread the message of redemption all over the world.
Nevertheless, the forces of evil continue their hostile activity. The Cross represents the major victory of the war, but the battle continues. There is a vital difference, however, between before the Cross and after. With respect to believers, the powers have indeed been “disarmed.” By virtue of Christ’s victory on the cross and our identification with him, believers share in his present power and authority over the powers.
Are Believers Immune?
The New Testament teaching is clear that becoming a Christian does not bring about an automatic immunity to the influence of evil spirits. Becoming a Christian links one to a new resource for dealing with these hostile forces. Jesus teaches his disciples the possibility and necessity of “abiding” in him, like a branch in a vine, in order to be infused with his divine enabling power (John 15:1–8). In a similar fashion, Paul constantly affirms our identity as being “in Christ.”
Evil spirits are thus weakened in their ability to influence Christians only insofar as believers realize their position in Christ and draw on the divine power that is theirs in Jesus Christ. Just as Christ holds a position of superiority to the powers, so too believers have a position of superiority and authority over the forces of the Devil. Paul tells the Colossians, “You have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every [demonic] power and authority” (Col. 2:10, NIV).
Being a Christian does not make one a guaranteed victor every time a demon exerts influence. The apostle Paul envisions the real possibility of Christians “giving a place to the devil” in their lives (Eph. 4:27). This is as close as Paul comes to the concept of someone being “demonized.”
Discerning The Demonic
How can a person detect the direct influence of Satan or an evil spirit as opposed to an environmental influence or one’s own bent toward doing evil?
In the Gospels and Acts it appears that Christ, the apostles, and ministers had little trouble detecting the work of evil spirits in the lives of demonized people. Their physical conditions (unusual muscular strength, physical debilitation, or illness), bizarre behavior (like living among tombs), extreme reaction to Christ or the use of his name and authority, and the direct response of the demon using the person’s vocal apparatus in reply to Christ (or a follower of Christ) appear to have been foremost among the evidences. Many would contend that the same evidences of intense demonic influence can be seen in certain people today.
Some contend that people involved in satanism and the occult open the door to demonic control; in most instances, such people actively seek communication with demons. It also appears from the evidence of Scripture that those who persistently and willfully continue in certain patterns of sinfulness may experience increasing amounts of direct demonic influence.
Yet we should not limit our perception of Satan’s activity to these more dramatic forms. Satan and his spirits can influence people even if they do not experience voices in their heads and roam graveyards. While Satan may often work in a direct and immediate way in people, he also asserts his sway more indirectly through exploiting “the world” and reinforcing the appetites of “the flesh” (our inclination toward evil). Thus we need to speak of varying levels of his influence.
Engaging In Spiritual Warfare
Paul claims that all of us—not just a few involved in deliverance ministries—struggle against wicked spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:12). He urges us to recognize that the only way we can succeed in this struggle is by appropriating the power of God.
In Ephesians 6:10–20, Paul portrays spiritual warfare as primarily concerned with Christian conduct—not with exorcism or eradicating structural (institutional or societal) evil. It is practical instruction for the day-to-day living of all Christians. Spiritual warfare is therefore resistance. It is a defensive posture. It involves appropriating the power of God to make progress in eradicating moral vices that already have a place in one’s life.
Spiritual warfare also takes the offensive. Paul calls the soldiers of Christ to advance on enemy territory by proclaiming the gospel.
Many commentators have observed that the only offensive weapon in Paul’s list of spiritual armor is the sword (Eph. 6:17). The sword is linked with the Spirit of the Word of God. In a related sense, the footgear of the Christian needs to be “the readiness to announce the Good News of peace” (Eph. 6:15, TEV). According to Paul, the primary aggressive action the Christian is called to take is to spread the gospel—the good news of salvation through Christ.
Ephesians 6:10–20, the classic spiritual warfare passage, is often viewed in individual terms; that is, each individual Christian should pray and ask God for strength to do battle. But Paul actually depicts the “arming” in corporate terms. All of Paul’s admonitions in this passage are plural.
More important, however, is the fact that Paul urges believers to pray “for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).
If Paul were to summarize the primary way of gaining access to the power of God for waging successful spiritual warfare, he would unwaveringly affirm that it was prayer. Paul models this activity in his two prayers recorded in Ephesians 1 and 3. In essence, Paul prays that God would endow his readers with power so that they could successfully resist the temptations of Satan and be divinely enabled to proclaim the gospel fearlessly in spite of demonic hostility.
What Does The Future Hold?
There is a message of hope for all who have come to know Christ. The grievous persistence of evil in the world, largely instigated by the Devil and his powers, will soon meet its end. Jesus promised to return “with great power and glory,” setting in motion a series of events that would include consigning the Devil and all his angels to the torment of an eternal fire that was prepared for them (Matt. 25:41).
This is still future. The church today is yet in the middle of the battle. God has given us access to his own power to be conquerors in every skirmish. It remains for us to discern the spiritual nature of our struggle and rely on the power of God.
As God revealed to Elisha’s servant the vast army of heavenly angels that fight for the people of God (2 Kings 6:17), perhaps it would be good for the contemporary church to have at least a momentary revelation of the opposite—the hordes of demonic spirits bent on our destruction. Perhaps we would take the spiritual nature of our struggle more seriously, and through prayer appropriate the power of God to resist sin and proclaim our gospel of deliverance.
