Don't doubt for a second that evil forces don't exist. All you have to do is look around in the news, internet, tv, radio, ect ect.....you to see the work of evil, with all the pain and loss it brings.Satan and his evil angels are very alert to this world and all humans living in it. This enemy is intruding his presence into every household, every street, every nation, in all the churches across the world, in national councils, in courts of justice, just everywhere!! No place on earth is safe to hide from the forces of Satan's wrath. Our enemy (Satan) is very busy perplexing, deceiving, seducing, and ruining the souls and bodies of men, women, and children. He breaks up families, planting seeds of hatred, strife, rebellion, and murder.....and the world seems to think that God has decreed these things and so they must exist. All who are not committed followers of Christ are servants of Satan even if they don't realize it or not. When Christians choose to associate with the ungodly, they expose themselves to temptation. Satan hides himself from view and draws his deceptive covering over their eyes.
Following worldly customs converts the church to the world and never the world to Christ. Familiarity with sin will cause it to seem less repulsive and right in your eyes of justification. But when we encounter trails because we are doing what God wants, we may be sure that He will protect us. But if we place ourselves where we will be tempted, sooner or later we will fall....and the enemy knows this and plays on it. The tempter often works most successfully through those whom we least suspect of being under his control. Talent and culture are gifts of God, but when these gifts lead away from Him, they become a trap. (I know I experienced this myself when playing the drums with the Wizards of Winter and touring in PA, NJ, and NY. It pulled me away from God and into this trap because Satan knows what we like as much as God does, and what temptations will work on us). Many people with cultured intellects, talents, and pleasant manners are polished instruments in the hands of Satan.
We can't forget the inspired warning ringing down the centuries to out time here in 2014. "be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" - 1 Peter 5:8. We need to put on the armor of God like it says in Ephesians 6:11. "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil". Remember our enemy is preparing for his last campaign as we are living in the end times now in 2014. All who follow Jesus will have conflicts with this enemy.....following Christ costs and requires sacrifice of our earthly goals, dreams, accomplishments, agendas, and even sometimes our lives. As Christians we need to always imitate a divine pattern and loving spirit towards others, putting them first instead of our needs and our goals, and our lives. The more we do that the more of a target for the attacks of Satan we become in this world.
Remember that all evil angels oppose God's plans. The evil spirits which are evil angels were originally created sinless by God. They were equal in nature, power, and glory with the holy beings that are now God's messengers.....the good angels. But now they are fallen because of sin, and they have joined together to dishonor God and destroy humanity. United with Satan in rebellion, they cooperate with him in warfare against divine authority In the new testament of the Bible it clearly states that people have been possessed with demons. These people were not simply suffering with disease from natural causes. Christ recognized the direct presence and influence of evil spirits. The demons possessed men at Gadara. They were wretched maniacs, writhing, foaming at the mouth, raging, cutting themselves, ect ect. There bleeding and disfigured bodies, and deranged minds made a spectacle that pleased the prince of darkness. Remember one of the demons controlling the sufferers said, "My name is Legion, for we are many". - Mark 5:9. In the Roman army during the days of Jesus on Earth legion's consisted of anywhere from 3 to 5 thousand men. But at the command of Jesus the demons fled from their victims, leaving them subdued, inteligent, and gentle. But the demons then swept a heard of pigs into the sea. Of course to the people of Gadara, the loss outweighted the blessing Christ had just brought and so they asked the divine Healer Jesus to leave in Matthew 8:24-34. By blaming Jesus for their loss, Satan stirred up the selfish fears of the people and prevented them from listening to His words.
But what is key to remember is Christ allowed the evil spirits to destroy the pigs as a rebuke to Jews who were raising unclean animals for profit. If Christ had not restrained the demons, they would have plunged not only the pigs, but also their keepers and owners into the sea. Furthermore God permitted this event so that the disciples could witness the cruel power of Satan on both people and animals, and so they would not be deceived by his dark delusions. Jesus also wanted the people to see His power to break Satan's hold and release his captives. Though Jesus himself went away, the men He had so amazingly delivered remained there to tell about the mercy of their Father.
The Bible of course records other accounts of these kind of examples. The daughter of the Syrophenician women, severely afflicted with a devil when Jesus cast out by His word in Mark 7:25-30. In Mark 9:17-27 a youth who had a spirit who had often "thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destory him. Also another example I will mention is the maniac tormented by a spirit of an unclean devil who disturbed the Sabbath quiet at Capernaum in Luke 4:33-36. In all of these examples Jesus healed them all and addresses the demons as intelligent beings, commanding him not to torment his victim ever again. Also there were some who tried to get supernatural power such as Simon Magus, Elymas the sorcerer, and the slave girl who followed Paul and Silas at Philippi in Acts 8:9, 18; 13:8, 16:16-18.
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