In Mark 1 we see Jesus cast a demon out of a man in the synagogue at Capernaum. Where are demons and the demon possessed in modern day America? Was this something only for Jesus time?
Demons, Satan, and the demon possessed are just as active today as they ever were. The thing that is different is their direct approach. Demonic activity takes an indirect approach in the United States and the rest of the western world. However, demonic activity is still direct in other non-western nations (ie the nations in Africa, India, etc.)
The term direct or indirect approach means simply that in Jesus day Satan did not try to camouflage his activity at all. People in Jesus day knew those that were possessed. In the western world Satan seeks to work under the radar to accomplish his purposes. He is not direct and open with his activity.
Why are the activities of Satan indirect and disguised in the west?
The nations of the west are secular nations. By this I do not mean that these nations have no religion or are all atheist. It simply means that the cause and effect of everything is credited to the secular and not the spiritual. By contrast many of the nations of Africa, India, Central and South America are spiritual. This means that the cause and effect of everything in their culture is credited to the spiritual; even if the spiritual forces credited are not the Judeo-Christian God.
If you ask a person in the United States why it rains they will likely respond by talking to you about high and low pressure systems, barometric pressure, the evaporation of water, and so on. If you ask a person in Congo why it rains they will say because God made it rain. If you ask a person in any western country about illness they will talk to you about germs, viruses, the condition of the heart and lungs, blood pressure, medicine, etc. If you ask someone in a village in Honduras they will tell you that God is angry at them.
The point of this explanation is not about who is right or wrong. It is simply to show why Satan operates differently in different cultures. Most people in the United States would be scared closer to God if they ever saw demonic activity in an open and direct way. That is obviously not Satan's purpose. His purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10). In the United States the best way he can do that is to allow people to go on thinking that spiritual things are only important at church or philosophy class. Practical, everyday issues can not be helped by a discussion of the spiritual. Most in the west do not believe that spiritual forces influence their lives. It should be obvious then, why Satan would take a very indirect approach in this country. Satan does not want to scare us out of a belief that is clearly helping his cause.
How can we observe the work of Satan and demons in the United States?
A few months ago I saw a T.V. show that was about gang activity. There was a leader of the Mexican Mafia gang who was in solitary confinement because he was so dangerous. No one from the outside was allowed near him. His only contact was with prison guards who were closely monitored. He was allowed the privilege of sending and receiving mail as part of the rights offered every inmate. He was so intelligent that he would write letters containing codes giving orders to the gang on the inside of prison and outside. Expert code breakers had examined his letters and could not break the code. Each time a letter was sent out people would carry out his orders by killing people. Here is a man who is completely confined. He can not hurt anyone on the inside or out. If no one ever listens to him again he is powerless to do anything. Yet somehow he still holds great power and influence over many people. He is also using that influence to do great evil.
Whenever I see someone in any area of life who has a disproportional amount of power and influence that is also using it for evil; I believe it is often the result of demonic activity. I believe that there are men and women who are religious leaders, mob leaders, pimps, political leaders, and so on who are just as possessed as anyone in Jesus day.
Another way that Satan expresses demonic control and influence over people in the west is through drugs. The Greek word for witchcraft in the New Testament is pharimicia. This is where we get our word pharmacy. If you think about what a witch doctor would do in Jesus day it is similar to what is done with modern medicine. People went to the witch doctor for sickness, emotional problems, to conceive children, to fall in love, and a host of other things. In each case, the witch doctor would prescribe a regimen of things that should be ingested and stir up something in a black cauldron for them to take.
I am not against taking medicine. I take antibiotics, claritin for allergies, and just about anything else that the doctor tells me to take when I am sick. However, it is also clear that the west has an incredible drug problem. We take drugs for everything! The use of prescription and illegal drugs is rampant in the west. I believe that if someone in Jesus day saw someone in our day that was high, or addicted to drugs; they would immediately conclude they were possessed.
The activity of demons is not absent from our day and our country, but it does look different. Satan is still trying to accomplish the same things he was 2000 years ago; stealing, killing, and destroying. He uses an indirect approach in the west because it better suits his needs, but we would be foolish to ignore his work.
Stay tuned for further post in the future about spiritual warfare in the life of Christ followers.
In Jesus Name
Jarrett
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