The Dragon and the Child: The Ancient War That Explains Everything

Hello, and welcome back to Nations 4 Jesus. Today I want to connect some dots that will help you understand not just the Christmas story, but all of human history—and especially why persecution has followed Christ and His church from the very beginning.

We're going to trace a single thread that runs from Genesis 3 all the way through Revelation 12, a thread that explains Herod's massacre of the innocents, explains 2,000 years of persecution, and explains the spiritual battles you face in your own life today. It's the story of the dragon and the child—the ancient war between Satan and Christ that has been raging since the Garden of Eden.

This insight comes from theologian Sinclair Ferguson in his book "The Dawn of Redeeming Grace," and it's one of the most illuminating perspectives on Scripture I've ever encountered.

[Genesis 3:15 - the first promise]

Let's start at the beginning. In Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve sinned, God pronounced judgment on the serpent—Satan—who had tempted them. But embedded in that judgment was a promise, the very first Gospel promise in Scripture. Genesis 3:15 says:

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel."

This is called the "protevangelium"—the first Gospel. God was announcing that warfare would exist between the serpent's offspring and the woman's offspring. One day, a descendant of the woman—a specific "He"—would crush the serpent's head, though in the process the serpent would strike His heel.

This is a prophecy of Jesus Christ! He is the seed of the woman who would crush Satan's head through His death and resurrection. But it's also a prophecy of conflict—Satan would oppose this promised seed, would try to prevent Him from coming, and would ultimately "strike His heel" at the cross.

[The conflict through history - Satan's attempts to stop the seed]

Throughout the Old Testament, we see Satan attempting to prevent the promised seed from coming. He inspired Cain to murder Abel—trying to cut off the godly line. He corrupted humanity so thoroughly that God sent the flood, preserving only Noah's family. He tried to wipe out the Israelites in Egypt. He inspired Pharaoh to kill Hebrew baby boys—an eerie foreshadowing of what Herod would later do.

When King Saul turned against David, Satan was behind it—trying to prevent the Messiah from coming through David's line. When Haman plotted to exterminate all Jews in Persia (the book of Esther), Satan was orchestrating it. Every attempt to destroy God's people or corrupt the messianic line was part of Satan's strategy to prevent Genesis 3:15 from being fulfilled.

[Matthew 2 - the conflict reaches its climax]

And then Jesus was born. The promised seed of the woman had finally come! And immediately, Satan attacked. Ferguson writes: "What happened in Bethlehem (Herod's murder of all baby boys two years old and under - Matthew 2:16), was yet another stage in the conflict God had announced in Genesis 3:15."

Herod's massacre wasn't just political paranoia. It was spiritual warfare. Satan, knowing that the child who would crush his head had been born, inspired Herod to try to kill Him. Just as Pharaoh had tried to kill Moses' generation, Herod tried to kill Jesus' generation. But just as God preserved Moses, God preserved Jesus—warning Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt.

Ferguson explains: "The seed/offspring of the serpent would oppose and eventually seek to crush the seed of the woman. The story that began in Genesis 3:15 was now running on through Matthew 2:1-17 and 16:18 to its climax."

[Revelation 12 - the symbolic vision]

Now, to understand the full picture, we need to look at Revelation 12, where John sees this ancient conflict in dramatic, symbolic form. Let me read Revelation 12:1-5:

"A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who 'will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.' And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne."

[Understanding the vision - who is who]

Who is this woman? She represents God's people—Israel. The twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel. She's about to give birth to the Messiah.

Who is the dragon? Revelation 12:9 tells us explicitly: "The great red dragon" was "that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world." This is the same serpent from Genesis 3! And now we see his true nature—not a mere snake, but a terrifying dragon with immense power.

What does the vision show? The dragon standing before the woman, waiting to devour her child the moment He's born. This is exactly what happened with Herod! Ferguson writes: "And now, in the real-time version of John's vision, the Child had been born. The coming of the wise men was the first hint that the undeceiving of the nations had begun. And so the evil one let loose his lieutenant, King Herod, against the Child."

[The child is snatched up - Jesus's victory]

But notice what happens: "She gave birth to a son, a male child, who 'will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.' And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne."

This is the whole story of Jesus compressed into one verse! He was born, He lived a sinless life, He died on the cross (the serpent "striking His heel"), He rose from the dead, He ascended to heaven, and He now sits at God's right hand. He will return one day and rule all nations. Satan tried to devour Him but failed. Jesus crushed the serpent's head through His death and resurrection!

[Where we live now - Revelation 12:17]

So Satan failed to stop Jesus. The promised seed of the woman accomplished His mission. Satan's head is crushed—his ultimate defeat is certain. But the war isn't over yet. And this is where we come in. Ferguson writes: "We now live at a different point of John's vision."

Let me read Revelation 12:17: "The dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

Do you see? Since Satan couldn't destroy Jesus, he's turned his fury on Jesus's followers—the church! We are "the rest of her offspring." We are those "who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." And Satan is making war on us.

[This explains everything - persecution makes sense now]

This explains everything! This is why persecution has followed the church from the beginning. This is why Stephen was stoned, why James was executed, why all the apostles except John were martyred. This is why Rome tortured and killed Christians for 300 years. This is why Islamic conquests targeted Christian communities. This is why Communist regimes slaughtered 70 million believers. This is why North Korea imprisons Christians, why Boko Haram massacres Nigerian believers, why Chinese authorities demolish churches.

Satan is furious! He failed to stop Jesus, so now he's making war on Jesus's followers. Every act of persecution against Christians throughout history is part of this same ancient conflict that began in Genesis 3:15. The dragon is still trying to destroy the woman's offspring—and we are that offspring!

[The personal battlefield - Satan attacks you too]

But it's not just large-scale persecution. This war touches your life personally. Ferguson writes: "Perhaps as you look at the world around you today, it feels as though the dragon must be winning - as Christians around the world suffer attack and harassment, as non-Christians hear the Gospel yet remain blind to the message, and as Satan accuses and tempts you on the battleground of your own heart."

That spiritual battle you face—those temptations, those doubts, those accusations in your mind telling you you're not really saved or that God doesn't love you—that's the dragon making war! When you share the Gospel and people reject it, when you see Christians suffering, when you feel under attack spiritually—that's all part of this same ancient conflict.

Second Corinthians 4:4 tells us that "the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." Satan is still doing what Revelation 12:9 calls him—"the deceiver of the whole world." He's still trying to keep people from recognizing Jesus.

[The promise stands - despite appearances]

But here's what we must hold onto: Despite how fierce the battle seems, despite how much it feels like the dragon is winning sometimes, the outcome is already decided! Jesus has already crushed the serpent's head. Satan's defeat is certain. He's just raging in his death throes, knowing his time is short.

Ferguson concludes with this encouragement: "Yet however fierce the heat, hold onto our Savior's promise: 'I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it' (Matthew 16:18)."

Jesus promised that He would build His church, and Hell's gates—Satan's gates—would not prevail against it. Not Herod's massacre. Not Roman persecution. Not Islamic conquests. Not Communist slaughter. Not modern extremism. Not the dragon's fury. None of it can stop Jesus from building His church!

[Looking at the evidence - the church still stands]

And the evidence is all around us! For 2,000 years, the dragon has made war on the church, and for 2,000 years, the church has not only survived but thrived! We talked in our last episode about how Christianity has grown from 558 million in 1900 to 2.4 billion today. We've discussed how the Chinese church went from 1 million believers in 1950 to possibly 100 million today despite brutal Communist persecution. We've seen how the African church exploded from 10 million to 685 million despite Islamic extremism.

Every attempt to devour the church has failed. Every massacre has produced martyrs whose blood became seed for new believers. Every closed church has multiplied into house churches. Every imprisoned pastor has inspired dozens more to boldly preach. The dragon is furious, but he cannot win because Jesus promised he wouldn't.

[Revelation's ending - total victory]

And Revelation doesn't end with chapter 12! It continues to show us Satan's ultimate fate. Revelation 20:10 tells us: "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

The ancient serpent, the dragon, Satan—he will be completely defeated and thrown into the lake of fire. The conflict that began in Genesis 3:15 will end with Satan's eternal punishment and Jesus's eternal reign. Revelation 21-22 shows us the new heaven and new earth where God dwells with His people forever, where there's no more death or mourning or crying or pain, where the curse is lifted, and where we see Jesus face to face.

[Living in the middle - our calling]

We live in the middle of this story. Genesis 3:15 has been fulfilled—Jesus crushed the serpent's head at the cross. Revelation 20:10 hasn't happened yet—Satan hasn't been thrown into the lake of fire. We're in that in-between time described in Revelation 12:17, where the dragon is making war on the rest of the woman's offspring.

So what do we do? We fight! Not in our own strength, but in Christ's victory. Ephesians 6:10-12 tells us: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

We recognize that our real enemy isn't people who persecute us—it's the dragon behind them. We put on God's armor. We stand firm in the faith. We keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus, just as Revelation 12:17 describes the dragon's targets.

[Three ways to respond - practical application]

Let me give you three practical ways to respond to this reality. First, pray for persecuted Christians with new understanding. When you hear about believers suffering in North Korea, Nigeria, or Afghanistan, recognize that this is the dragon making war on the woman's offspring. Pray for their protection, pray for their perseverance, pray that their witness would be powerful. They're on the front lines of the ancient conflict.

Second, expect spiritual opposition in your own life. If you're following Jesus faithfully, you should expect Satan's attacks—temptations, doubts, accusations, spiritual warfare. Don't be surprised by it. Peter warns in 1 Peter 5:8: "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." But James 4:7 promises: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Stand firm!

Third, live with confidence in Christ's victory. Yes, the battle is real. Yes, the dragon is furious. Yes, persecution continues. But the outcome is certain! Jesus has already won. The serpent's head is crushed. Satan's defeat is guaranteed. The gates of hell will not prevail against Christ's church. So live boldly, share the Gospel fearlessly, and stand firm in faith knowing that you're on the winning side!

[Closing challenge and prayer]

This Christmas, as you think about baby Jesus in the manger, remember that His birth was the culmination of a 4,000-year conflict. Remember that Satan tried to devour Him through Herod but failed. Remember that Jesus grew up, lived perfectly, died on the cross to crush the serpent's head, rose victoriously, and ascended to rule all nations. And remember that you're now part of this same ancient story—the dragon is making war on you because you're part of the woman's offspring who keep God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

But take courage! The promise of Genesis 3:15 has been fulfilled. The vision of Revelation 12 is being fulfilled. And the prophecy of Revelation 20-22 will certainly be fulfilled. Jesus is building His church, and the gates of hell—the dragon's gates—will not prevail!

Let me pray: 

Thank you for joining me today. These insights are from Sinclair Ferguson's "The Dawn of Redeeming Grace." May we never forget that we're part of an ancient story—and we're on the winning side!

Until next time, remember—keep your eyes on the nations and stand firm in Christ's victory over the dragon!

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Thor, St.Boniface and the Christmas Tree

When the average person thinks of a Catholic saint, I’d venture to guess that it’s not a fearless, axe-wielding, hammer-breaking, oak-crushing, converter of heathens that comes to mind. And yet, that’s exactly the kind of guy St. Boniface was.

Born around 680 in England, Boniface entered a Benedictine monastery before being commissioned by the pope to evangelize modern-day Germany, first as a priest, and eventually as a bishop. Under the protection of Charles Martel, Boniface traveled through all of Germany, restrengthening regions that had already been introduced to Christianity and bringing the light of Christ to those that hadn’t. Boniface, “with his tireless activity, his gift for organization, and his adaptable, friendly, yet firm character,” found a great amount of success in his travels, said Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

Here Boniface is described (albeit dramatized for story-telling) by Henry Van Dyke in The First Christmas Tree (1897),

“What a man he was! Fair and slight, but straight as a spear and strong as an oaken staff. His face was still young; the smooth skin was bronzed by wind and sun. His gray eyes, clean and kind, flashed like fire when he spoke of his adventures, and of the evil deeds of the false priests with whom he contended.” (1)

Around the year 723, Boniface was traveling with a small party in the region of Lower Hesse. He knew of a community of heathens near Geismar who, in the middle of winter, would make a human sacrifice (a child, typically) to the thunder-god Thor (yes, THAT Thor) at the base of their sacred oak tree, the “Thunder Oak”. Boniface, in part from advice from a brother bishop, wished to destroy the Thunder Oak to not only save the life of the human sacrifice, but also to show the heathens that he would not be struck down by lightning at the hands of Thor.

As the story goes, Boniface and his companions, reaching the village on Christmas Eve, arrived at the place of the sacrifice in time enough to interrupt it. With his bishops’ staff (crozier) in hand, Boniface approached the pagan crowd, who had surrounded the base of the Thunder Oak, saying to his group, “Here is the Thunder Oak, and here the cross of Christ shall break the hammer of the false god, Thor.”

With a small child laid out for the sacrifice, the executioner raised his hammer high. But on the downswing, Boniface extended his crozier to block the blow, miraculously breaking the great stone hammer and saving the child’s life.

Afterward, Boniface is said to have proclaimed to the people:

“Hearken, sons of the forest! No blood shall flow this night save that which pity has drawn from a mother’s breast. For this is the birth-night of the Christ, the son of the Almighty, the Savior of mankind. Fairer is He than Baldur the Beautiful, greater than Odin the Wise, kinder than Freya the Good. Since He has come sacrifice is ended. The dark, Thor, on whom you have vainly called, is dead. Deep in the shades of Niffelheim he is lost forever. And now on this Christ-night you shall begin to live. This blood-tree shall darken your land no more. In the name of the Lord, I will destroy it.” (2)

Boniface picked up an axe nearby and, as legend has it, took one mighty swing at the oak when a great gust of wind arose through the forest and felled the tree, roots and all. It lie on the forest floor, broken in four pieces. Though afterwards Boniface had a chapel built from the wood, our story takes us to what stood immediately beyond the ruins of the mighty tree.

The “Apostle of Germany” continued to preach to the astounded Germanic peoples, who were in disbelief that this slayer of Thor’s Thunder Oak had not been struck down by their god. Boniface looked beyond where the oak lay, pointing to a small, unassuming fir tree, saying:

“This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace… It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness.” (3)

And so, the Germans began a new tradition that night, one that stretches to the present day. By bringing a fir into their homes, decorating it with candles and ornaments, and celebrating the birth of a Savior, the Apostle of Germany and his flock gave us what we now know as the Christmas tree.

Taken from Churchpop

Power Encounters

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, 

he made a public spectacle of them, 

triumphing over them by the cross. 

Colossians 2:15

“Christianity has all too often been presented as a religion of the textbook and the head,” (C. Peter Wagner). This type of approach appeals to our rational, Western mindset. But it has very little influence on much of the unreached world which is held captive by powerful demonic forces. 

For them, the display of God’s power to heal and free them from demonic possession is much more convincing. When Jesus came to earth, He won people to Himself through both approaches...the rational explanation of who He was and what He had come to do as well as through miracles and power struggles won over the demonic world. Westerners need to first believe in the spirit world and then learn how to overcome this world through the power of Jesus Christ.

In my last blog entry, Are Harry Potter and Twilight for real? , I spoke about the power of the demonic world. It holds much of the world captive to fear. But the power of Jesus Christ is so much greater! When Christ is revealed as more powerful than Satan and his demons, a show of power takes place. These power encounters are happening all over the world. They are one of the main ways that Christ built His Church in the past and how He continues to build it today. 

The Bible is full of these power encounters, where the power of God directly challenges and overcomes the power of Satan and his demons:

- Moses vs. Pharaoh and his priests Exodus 7:10

- Joshua vs. the city of Jericho Joshua 6:15

- Samson vs. the Philistines Judges 16:23

- David vs. Goliath 1 Samuel 17 

- Elijah vs. the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel 1 Kings 18:20

- Jesus vs. the demons possessing men at Gadarenes Matthew 8:28

- Jesus vs. demon possessing young boy Matthew 17:14

- Jesus vs. hold of death over Lazarus John 11:38

- Jesus vs. Satan in the Garden of Gethsemane Matthew 26:36

And ultimately...Jesus vs. Satan and death through His sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection! Matthew 27

These power encounters did not end with Biblical times. They continue today throughout the world wherever Christ is preached. There are numerous instances of this...I would like to share a few below:

- a missionary in Cuba tells how God stopped a storm to increase faith in Him (see storm)

- various stories of deliverance from Youth With a Mission missionaries (see stories)

In conclusion, Western Christians need to be aware of the spirit world and take it seriously. But we don't need to fear it. Our focus should never be on the occult or we may grow fascinated with it and be drawn into unholy focus on demons and Satan. But neither should we be blind to the hold it has on much of the world. 

Are Harry Potter and Twilight for Real?

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, 

but against the rulers, against the authorities, 

against the powers of this dark world 

and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:12

In America today, there is a growing fascination with things of the occult. Harry Potter and Twilight are just two of the more popular book and movie series which portray sorcerers, witches, vampires and such as intriguing, beautiful and evil, all wrapped up in a slick, attractive package. To most in America, these characters are just that, characters in a story who have no real basis for reality in this world. 

This is where America is mistaken. The demonic world is very real. The Bible talks about this world many times, (Romans 8:38, Matthew 8:31, 1 John 4:1). It is not something to be celebrated, glamorized or used for Hollywood profit. On the other hand, it is not something to be feared, if we have the Holy Spirit living within us. "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

Picture a world where you believe that spirits/demons inhabit trees, animals and other people. If a loved one grows sick and dies, it is not because of cancer or TB but because of a demonic curse. If your crops fail for lack of rain, it's because you didn't offer enough sacrifices to the local gods (Deuteronomy 32:17). You may perform any number of sacrifices, including your own children, in an effort to try to make the demonic powers happy (Psalm 106:37). You worship cows, as the Mahratta of India do, because you believe there are 330 million gods inside their stomachs. Your life is filled with fear, anxiety and a real awareness of a powerful spirit world.

This is reality for the vast majority of countries in the world. Much of Africa, Asia, the Middle East and even parts of Europe and South America live in fear of spirits forces and do their best to appease them. 

The fact that Western Christians have little understanding or personal knowledge of demonic forces, I believe, stems from our privileged status in America. Yes, demonic activity is alive and well in America but it is much more subtle. Our country’s Christian heritage and large number of believing Christians has in many ways protected us from this harsh reality in so much of the world. 

Unfortunately, this privileged status has caused us to disregard the devil, debating on our talk shows whether evil or the devil really exist. Satan is more than happy with that. When we glamorize demonic activity as in Harry Potter, Twilight and a myriad of other books, TV shows and movies, or view the devil as a little red man with a pitch fork, we are, in essence, not taking him seriously. We do not realize that we need to resist Satan and the demonic world (1 Peter 5:8, James 4:7) and that we must know how to wage war against him (Ephesians 6:13).

This is not only about Americans, though. We are told to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, sharing the love of Christ with the lost. How do we do this if we really don't believe or understand the demonic world that holds so much of earth captive? Hospital advice will not speak to a woman’s heart who believes that the reason she is infertile is that an evil spirit has brought this upon her. Agricultural advice will not speak to a farmer who believes that if he does not sacrifice precious cattle to an unseen demon, rain will not come. The preaching of peace and tolerance will not speak to a tribe who believes that a neighboring tribe has cursed them time and again. 

In these instances, they need to see that the power of Christ is so much greater than the power of the demonic world with which they are very familiar. When this happens, when Christ is revealed as more powerful than Satan and his demons, a show of power takes place. I will share more about these power encounters in my next blog. 

What do we do with evil?

For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men. Lamentations 3:33

"You have seen, O Lord, the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause!" Lamentations 3:59

Persecution of Christians, AIDS, orphans, sexual trafficking, cancer, genocide, terrorist attacks, divorce...the horrors and atrocities of this world seem to be without end. Where is the hope? Where is the justice? Where is the solution? Who do we blame? Who do we appeal to for help? Will good ever come? 

These are questions all of us ask regularly, especially when faced with the sadness and evil in this life. How we answer these questions makes a world of difference in what actions we will take and what mindset we will embrace. 

David of Bible times, after defeating Goliath, now faced an even greater foe...King Saul. Jealous of David, Saul pursued him for years, trying to kill him. When a priest sheltered David, Saul found out and had the priest, along with 84 other Jewish priests, slaughtered (1 Samuel 22:6-23). David discovered this and felt incredible horror. He must have asked himself these very questions.

David's response is a model for all of us when faced with horror and tragedy. 

1) He placed blame where it should have been: on Saul and on evil. We need to remember this as well. "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5 God is not the author of evil and destruction...Satan is. But praise God, when Satan "intended to harm me...God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20 

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full," John 10:10

2) He reminded himself that God will repay evil. David wrote Psalm 52 about this very incident...the killing of the priests. In Psalm 52:5 he says: "Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living." Satan will not get away with destroying human life forever. There will be justice because "the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:18 

3) He placed his hope solely in God. "I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope," Psalm 52:9. God is still on His throne no matter what Satan does. Our only hope is in God. Not in government, not in ourselves, not in others, not in medicine or the military or money...only in God. 

4) He reminded himself that God is good!  "for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints," Psalm 52:9. No matter how bad things look, God is good. He is good all the time and He longs to be good to us. His love for us is immeasurable. We need to rest in that truth. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations, Psalm 100:5.

"In the face of unimaginable horror, we must cast our imaginations on Christ, our only hope. His Word will be our anchor when our faith is tossed like the waves," Beth Moore (Bible study author and leader). 

Halloween...why I don't celebrate it

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.  Philippines 4:8

It's that uncomfortable time of year again...Halloween. I say uncomfortable because our family does not celebrate it. I used to celebrate Halloween. I saw no problem with the costumes, decorations, candy...just innocent fun, right? I was a Christian and didn't believe in the occult, witches or anything like that. I saw Halloween as just a fun time to dress up and be with my friends. 

My views changed dramatically after watching a video of a former priestess of the Satanic Church. She shared the origins of Halloween and how it is celebrated and revered today among Satan worshippers and witches. I realized, for the first time, that there is much evil associated with the history, symbols and practices of Halloween. You can read more about it at Halloween: A Convenant with Death

Now that I had this information, what was I going to do with it? Was Halloween just a holiday about candy and costumes as I had always believed or was there more to the picture? Was I going to participate with others in a holiday that is looked at by Satanists as one of "holiest" holidays of the year. Was I going to allow my children to trick-or-treat on the same night that Satanists, the world over, have been praying for increased demonic activity? Was I going to decorate my house with images of death, horror and evil? 

This may seem crazy thinking to many. You see, in America we tend to view the demonic world as something entertaining. The huge increase in occult related TV shows and movies and the incredible popularity of Harry Potter is proof of this. But, if you begin to do any sort of research into other countries and other religions, you will quickly see the demonic world is not about entertainment. It is about absolute control of people's lives. It stands in direct opposition to Christ and the Church. It is real and it is  not something we Christians should take lightly. I wrote more about this at Are Harry Potter and Twilight for real?

But my choice to not celebrate Halloween isn't just about my desire to not associate myself and my family with a holiday with evil origins and symbols. It has even more to do with my desire to honor Jesus Christ in everything I do. I just read an email concerning this very heart issue, written by "Daryl" at the website Christian Living. He was talking about whether or not a Christian should play games such as Dungeons and Dragons or Yu-Gi-Oh...games that have to do with witchcraft, sorcery, demonic images, etc. But I think it can apply to Halloween as well. 

Question

Hey I’m John and I have a question. Before that I want to let you know Jesus IS in my heart. I have one problem though. I play a card game called yu-gi-oh! I want to know if it’s against good to play it, I mean I'm not obsessed with it, I just like it as a hobby. I play sports and other things also. Please tell me if it’s against God or not, I do not believe in any of the cards or anything like dark magic or nothing. I worship Jesus Christ. So is it a sin to play yugioh??? 

Answer

Expert: Daryl - 9/12/2006

Great to hear that Jesus is your Lord! He is mine too! If Jesus is our Lord, then we need to make sure that we do everything here on earth for His glory, which means that when people look into our lives, and see the way we live, they will see Jesus! I’m glad that you are doing everything that you can to make sure that this is the case in your life.

I asked the same question that you are asking many years ago. Instead of Yu-Gi-Oh, we had Dungeons and Dragons and Masters of the Universe. I often argued with my mom and dad when they told me not to watch those programs or play those games. They said that it was evil, but I couldn’t see what was wrong with them. After all, everyone was doing it and nothing bad was happening to them. I listened to my parents though because the Bible says that we should honor our parents. I knew that I wouldn’t be honoring them if I did what they told me not to do.

I have grown up quite a bit and that was a long time ago, but I can see now that my parents were trying to protect me. Have a look at this scripture in the Bible:

Deuteronomy 18:9-11 (Contemporary English Version)

9Soon you will go into the land that the LORD your God is giving you. The nations that live there do things that are disgusting to the LORD, and you must not follow their example. 10-11Don't sacrifice your son or daughter. And don't try to use any kind of magic or witchcraft to tell fortunes or to cast spells or to talk with spirits of the dead. 

Why did God say this? He sounds a bit like my parents when I was younger - “Don’t do that!” I’m not sure if you have read Deuteronomy, but if you have, you will know the story about the Israelites and their journey through the wilderness after God had brought them out of Egypt. God told the Israelites that they were His people and that He would take care of them. He was going to take them to a place called Canaan that had everything they could ever dream of: lots of food, plenty of sheep and cattle, and the land was beautiful. The one problem with Canaan is that it already had a whole lot of people living there. Those people did not follow God. In fact, they worshipped all sorts of other gods. 

Let me give you an example similar to this story: Let’s say there is a married man named George who loves his wife and wants to spend the rest of his life loving her. George and his wife have a good life together and look forward a happy future. One day George’s wife leaves him and goes to live with another man, but she comes home every now-and-then for dinner and to pick up some more clothes. Could you imagine how that would hurt George? Everyday up until then George had tried his very best to make sure that his wife knew he loved her. He gave her all the things that she needed to be happy when she was with him, and all he asked of her was to love him back. For her to go and live with another man would really hurt him because he had given her so much.

This is what happened with God and the Israelites. He had given them everything that they needed to be happy and He was always willing to help them. He did all of that and all that He asked of them was to love and obey Him. God told the Israelites that when they entered Canaan, they mustn’t do what the Canaanite people did. They mustn’t practice the things the Canaanites practiced, and most of all, they mustn’t worship the Canaanite gods. 

Unfortunately the Israelites didn’t listen and did exactly what God told them not to do.

Can you imagine how God felt? He had given them so much. He helped them to get out of Egypt where they were slaves for over 400 years. He gave them food and water every day while they were in the desert, and then gave them a beautiful land to rebuild their lives in. After all that God had done, they still disobeyed Him.

It hurts God’s feeling when we disobey Him, because that means that He isn’t our Lord - something else is. 

What does that have to do with playing Yu-Gi-Oh? I went and had a look at what Yu-Gi-Oh is about. I saw that it has been made into games and movies and came across a couple of descriptions of these. Here is one of them:

“Yu-Gi-Oh tells the tale of Yuugi Mutou, a shorter-than-normal high school student who was given an ancient Egyptian artifact known as the Millennium Puzzle in pieces by his grandfather. Upon completing the Puzzle, he is possessed by another personality which is later discovered to be the spirit of a 3000-year-old (5000-year-old, in the English anime) Pharaoh, who forgot everything from his time.”

It goes on to say that Yuugi Mutou has to help the Pharaoh to get his memories back. I read quite a bit more, but this particular piece was what grabbed my attention. There may be very slight variations, but one thing is still the same. This game has to do with wizards, magic, and being possessed by spirits. If you look at Deuteronomy 18:9-11, you will see that God warned the Israelites not to have anything to do with these things. Why? Because these things have to do with other gods. Things that take us away from God, like worshipping the gods the Canaanites worshipped, come from one person - Satan. Take a look at what Jesus said about the subject: 

Luke 11:23 (The Message)

23"This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse.

Jesus is very straight-forward about this. We cannot be on both Satan’s side, and Jesus’ side, and we can’t be in between. As He said; there is no neutral ground

What I have tried to show you is that the games and programs of my time; Dungeons and Dragons and Masters of the Universe, all had one thing in common. They all had witches, wizards, magic, spells, and spirit possession. God is clear about what He thinks of these things. He doesn’t like them because they are from Satan. Have a look at the scripture to see how much dislikes these things:

Deuteronomy 12:29-31 (The Message)

29-31 When GOD, your God, cuts off the nations whose land you are invading, shoves them out of your way so that you displace them and settle in their land, be careful that you don't get curious about them after they've been destroyed before you. Don't get fascinated with their gods, thinking, "I wonder what it was like for them, worshiping their gods. I'd like to try that myself." Don't do this to GOD, your God. They commit every imaginable abomination with their gods. (Witchcraft, wizardry, talking to the dead, etc.) GOD hates it all with a passion. Why, they even set their children on fire as offerings to their gods! 

John, Jesus loves you so much and He wants you to have the best He has to offer. Satan knows that and is trying everything He can to get people to do things that take them away from God. But Satan is clever. He doesn’t just go to people and tell them to leave God. They would see what he is trying to do straight away. This is what the Bible says about Satan:

1 Corinthians 11: 14b

…Even Satan tries to make himself look like an angel of light.

Satan will trick people into thinking that there is nothing wrong with something he has made by making it look soooo good. Like an “angel of light” He will do that by making it extremely fun. He makes the characters look harmless, and they are even on the ‘good’ side. The problem is that they are using Satan’s tools to fight evil. Tools like magic and wizardry.

If Satan can hurt God, he can get Him back for kicking him out of Heaven. When my parents told me not to watch Masters of the Universe and play Dungeons and Dragons, they weren’t doing it to be mean. They were helping me to love Jesus as much as I can. So now that I am older and understand more, I know that everything that I do should say “I love you Jesus!”, and that includes the programs I watch and games I play.

John, I don’t want to make your mind up for you, but I do want to make sure that you have all the facts so that when you make a decision, you make the best one that you know to make.

So whatever you do, whether it is eating, sleeping, watching TV, or playing games, make sure that you are doing it so that when people look at you, they can say “Wow! John really loves Jesus!”

If you have read this far, I encourage you to read the website I mentioned previously. Halloween: A Convenant with Death  Whether or not to celebrate Halloween is an issue I believe each of us needs to seriously consider. I've shared my convictions...now it's up to you to make a decision.

Power Encounters

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, 

he made a public spectacle of them, 

triumphing over them by the cross. 

Colossians 2:15

“Christianity has all too often been presented as a religion of the textbook and the head,” (C. Peter Wagner). This type of approach appeals to our rational, Western mindset. But it has very little influence on much of the unreached world which is held captive by powerful demonic forces. 

For them, the display of God’s power to heal and free them from demonic possession is much more convincing. When Jesus came to earth, He won people to Himself through both approaches...the rational explanation of who He was and what He had come to do as well as through miracles and power struggles won over the demonic world. Westerners need to first believe in the spirit world and then learn how to overcome this world through the power of Jesus Christ.

In my last blog entry, Are Harry Potter and Twilight for real? , I spoke about the power of the demonic world. It holds much of the world captive to fear. But the power of Jesus Christ is so much greater! When Christ is revealed as more powerful than Satan and his demons, a show of power takes place. These power encounters are happening all over the world. They are one of the main ways that Christ built His Church in the past and how He continues to build it today. 

The Bible is full of these power encounters, where the power of God directly challenges and overcomes the power of Satan and his demons:

- Moses vs. Pharaoh and his priests Exodus 7:10

- Joshua vs. the city of Jericho Joshua 6:15

- Samson vs. the Philistines Judges 16:23

- David vs. Goliath 1 Samuel 17 

- Elijah vs. the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel 1 Kings 18:20

- Jesus vs. the demons possessing men at Gadarenes Matthew 8:28

- Jesus vs. demon possessing young boy Matthew 17:14

- Jesus vs. hold of death over Lazarus John 11:38

- Jesus vs. Satan in the Garden of Gethsemane Matthew 26:36

And ultimately...Jesus vs. Satan and death through His sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection! Matthew 27

These power encounters did not end with Biblical times. They continue today throughout the world wherever Christ is preached. There are numerous instances of this...I would like to share a few below:

- a missionary in Cuba tells how God stopped a storm to increase faith in Him (see storm)

- healed a young muslim girl to show His power (see healing)

- an African girl is healed from demon possession ( see possession) 

- various stories of deliverance from Youth With a Mission missionaries (see stories)

In conclusion, Western Christians need to be aware of the spirit world and take it seriously. But we don't need to fear it. Our focus should never be on the occult or we may grow fascinated with it and be drawn into unholy focus on demons and Satan. But neither should we be blind to the hold it has on much of the world. 

Are Harry Potter and Twilight for real?

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, 

but against the rulers, against the authorities, 

against the powers of this dark world 

and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:12

In America today, there is a growing fascination with things of the occult. Harry Potter and Twilight are just two of the more popular book and movie series which portray sorcerers, witches, vampires and such as intriguing, beautiful and evil, all wrapped up in a slick, attractive package. To most in America, these characters are just that, characters in a story who have no real basis for reality in this world. 

This is where America is mistaken. The demonic world is very real. The Bible talks about this world many times, (Romans 8:38, Matthew 8:31, 1 John 4:1). It is not something to be celebrated, glamorized or used for Hollywood profit. On the other hand, it is not something to be feared, if we have the Holy Spirit living within us. "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because 

the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

Picture a world where you believe that spirits/demons inhabit trees, animals and other people. If a loved one grows sick and dies, it is not because of cancer or TB but because of a demonic curse. If your crops fail for lack of rain, it's because you didn't offer enough sacrifices to the local gods (Deuteronomy 32:17). You may perform any number of sacrifices, including your own children, in an effort to try to make the demonic powers happy (Psalm 106:37). You worship cows, as the Mahratta of India do, because you believe there are 330 million gods inside their stomachs. Your life is filled with fear, anxiety and a real awareness of a powerful spirit world.

This is reality for the vast majority of countries in the world. Much of Africa, Asia, the Middle East and even parts of Europe and South America live in fear of spirits forces and do their best to appease them. 

The fact that Western Christians have little understanding or personal knowledge of demonic forces, I believe, stems from our privileged status in America. Yes, demonic activity is alive and well in America but it is much more subtle. Our country’s Christian heritage and large number of believing Christians has in many ways protected us from this harsh reality in so much of the world. 

Unfortunately, this privileged status has caused us to disregard the devil, debating on our talk shows whether evil or the devil really exist. Satan is more than happy with that. When we glamorize demonic activity as in Harry Potter, Twilight and a myriad of other books, TV shows and movies, or view the devil as a little red man with a pitch fork, we are, in essence, not taking him seriously. We do not realize that we need to resist Satan and the demonic world (1 Peter 5:8, James 4:7) and that we must know how to wage war against him (Ephesians 6:13).

This is not only about Americans, though. We are told to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, sharing the love of Christ with the lost. How do we do this if we really don't believe or understand the demonic world that holds so much of earth captive? Hospital advice will not speak to a woman’s heart who believes that the reason she is infertile is that an evil spirit has brought this upon her. Agricultural advice will not speak to a farmer who believes that if he does not sacrifice precious cattle to an unseen demon, rain will not come. The preaching of peace and tolerance will not speak to a tribe who believes that a neighboring tribe has cursed them time and again. 

In these instances, they need to see that the power of Christ is so much greater than the power of the demonic world with which they are very familiar. When this happens, when Christ is revealed as more powerful than Satan and his demons, a show of power takes place. I will share more about these power encounters in my next blog.