The Crossing
No one really denies that we now live in a Post-Christian Nation. The foundations of faith have been eroded. This provides a significant advantage to people of faith when we live a counter-cultural life BUT only if we stand securely on a Christian Worldview revealed in Scripture.
As a culture we are fascinated with the Supernatural, watching and reading stories from superheroes to vampires. The question is what Christians believe when it comes to the Supernatural and what the Bible has to say about it.
The three biggest players in the Supernatural are God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible also talks about Angels and Demons, discussing angels 100 times in the Old Testament and over 170 in the New Testament, and demons over 82 times in the New Testament.
Angels are not the winged creatures we imagine, those are actually the Cherubim - winged creatures who dwell in the throne room of God.
Hebrews 13:1-2 NIV
Angels are messengers sent to deliver a heavenly word to the people of earth. They also minister to Jesus and his people.
Hebrews 1:14 NIV
In all of scripture, The Satan is never given a proper name, instead he is always given a title or an image. Satan is not a name, but means opposer, one who stands against, the adversary.
Satan is actually highly spoken of in the garden, described as smart and shrewd, much like the word wisdom. This leads many to believe that the fall of mankind in Genesis 3 is also the fall of the angels.
Angels are created by God and designed to serve Him and bring Him glory. They have free will - they can choose to follow God or rebel against Him. Demons are fallen angels. They rejected God and followed after The Satan.
Revelation 12:7-9 NIV
The Bible suggests to us that the best way to think of angels and demons is in military terms. They are organized, into a hierarchy. They have ranks, orders, and operate with considerable force and exert measurable influence.
There are levels of demonic influence:
Temptation - they increase your access to sin
Oppression - the result of physical or emotional harm caused by an external attack
Influence - primarily mental and emotional, pushing towards anger, depression, violence and self harm
Possession - the physical body is controlled in whole or in part
Satan has three tools in his tool belt: deception, intimidation and accusation.
The way he deceives is through Biblical half truths, but we have an easy weapon against this. It is knowledge of the Bible.
Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV
When you speak the truth of God's word you are not outmatched, you are overqualified.
The second thing that Satan does is intimidate you, making you feel frightened and deceiving you into believing that they are stronger than they are.
1 John 4:1-4 NIV
His final tool is as your accuser and slanderer, saying false things about you and bringing up true things. However, this has been defeated through the blood of Jesus.
Revelation 12:10-11 NIV
We overcome Satan, because Jesus' blood covers us, cleanses us and makes us right with God.
The knowledge of the Supernatural matters, because we are not just dealing with flesh and blood but with spiritual forces at play, which should change our level of commitment, solidify our thankfulness to Jesus, and clarify our allegiance knowing that Jesus wins.