[Gottesblog] When Demons Show Up, by Anthony Dodgers

When Demons Show Up

by Anthony Dodgers

 

“People shouldn’t call for demons unless they really mean what they say.”

In The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis’s final volume in The Chronicles of Narnia, the enemies of Narnia promote a false teaching that Aslan, the great Lion and true King of Narnia, is the same as Tash, the wicked vulture-like god of the Calormenes. It eventually becomes clear that they have no problem equating the two beings because they believe in neither of them. But then, invoked by these enemies of truth, Tash shows up:

Roughly the shape of a man but it had the head of a bird; some bird of prey with a cruel, curved beak. It had four arms which it held high above its head, stretching them out Northward as if it wanted to snatch all Narnia in its grip; and its fingers—all twenty of them—were curved like its beak and had long, pointed, bird-like claws instead of nails. It floated on the grass instead of walking, and the grass seemed to wither beneath it.

[True and faithful Narnians witness the arrival of this pagan god:]

“It seems, then,” said the Unicorn, “That there is a real Tash, after all.”
“Yes,” said the Dwarf. “And this fool of an Ape, who didn’t believe in Tash, will get more than he bargained for! He has called for Tash: Tash has come…
It has come to dwell among us. They have called it and it has come… People shouldn’t call for demons unless they really mean what they say.” (The Last Battle, Chapter VIII).

I would claim that America is suffering a similar fate. On January 3, 2021, the opening prayer for Congress was concluded with these words: “Give us peace… peace even in this chamber, now and evermore. We ask it in the name of the monotheistic god, Brahma, a god known by many names and many different faiths. Amen and Awoman.” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Missouri, is also a minister in the United Methodist Church, yet he prayed for peace in the House’s chamber while invoking demons. Three days later “demons” showed up in that chamber.

On January 6, a protest devolving into a riot spilled into the Capitol building. Far from being a unified group with a set goal in mind, this crowd included everyone from “Grandmas for Trump” to the guy in the Camp Auschwitz hoodie. And no one can forget the shirtless Norse pagan shaman. The “sacrilege” committed by this mob was not lost on our elites either. Following the riot, both Democrats and Republicans had all kinds of condemnation for these people who violated their “temple of democracy.”

Everything is theological. Demons were invoked on Sunday and they showed up on Wednesday. I am not saying that the storming of the Capitol on January 6 was directly caused by Rep. Cleaver’s prayer. But the true God always hears the blasphemous prayers of the wicked and He answers those prayers in His wrath. The true Narnians should not be blind to the obvious connection between this country’s faithlessness and the violent degeneracy we see today.

Our nation has worshiped demons for a long time, and it should be no surprise when they show up, whether they come from the right or the left. We have had the institutionalized slaughter of unborn children for almost 50 years. That is no less than the worship of Moloch. We have countless ways of accessing pornography, and its softer versions are basically mainstream. That is hardly different than how the worshipers of Baal and Asherah could consort with their gods by visiting the temple prostitute. Mars and Bacchus are adored by the ubiquitous violence and hedonism of our entertainment, encouraged by the rhetoric of politicians and celebrities.

If our nation is devoted to such things, can we be surprised that our people have come to embody such things? Have we forgotten the wisdom of the psalmist?

Our God is in the heavens;
He does all that He pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them. (Psalm 115:3–8)

In contrast to the living God, idols are lifeless and empty. And those who worship them become like them. Those who worship sex and violence get nothing but shame and fear, injustice and death. If you call for demons, they will come.

In case you think I’m being too literal, the Apostle Paul is the one who exposes the gods:

What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? (1 Corinthians 10:19–22)

Yet this is precisely what the unbelieving nations do: they provoke the Lord. The psalmist sees this blasphemy and marvels:

Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”

The beginning of Psalm 2 describes many in our nation, those who think they can rule themselves and overthrow the rule and order of God. They rebel against the Creator and Christ. And yet…

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.

The enemies of God cannot touch Him. Their demon gods cannot rescue them from His hand. His judgment is set. His will is done.

Then He will speak to them in His wrath,
and terrify them in His fury, saying,
“As for Me, I have set My King
on Zion, My holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to Me, “You are My Son;
today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your heritage,
and the ends of the earth Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

In these verses, we hear the Father’s eternal decree: His Son is the one true King and He reigns from the holy hill of Zion, the holy hill of Calvary. He is enthroned upon the cross and, by dying and rising again, He is given all authority in heaven and on earth. All who submit to this King in faith are made His heritage, His possession, citizens of His eternal kingdom. All who mock and resist the crucified King will be broken, shattered, and cast down forever.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest He be angry, and you perish in the way,
for His wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. (Psalm 2)

The lesson we must learn from the evil that is coming upon our nation is that it’s getting what it deserves. And we have all participated in our nation’s sinful decadence in one way or another. We all need to repent. “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry.” Turn back to Him and mourn your sin. Confess it, and flee from it and its destructive end. “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” Blessed are all who flee to the King on His holy hill, and find absolution and protection in His holy blood.

This also means that there is no cause for despair. The blessed can be confident in our King who rules over all nations. Even surrounded by demons, we can continue in good works and peace, for we belong to the living God. And even if this society and nation fall apart, we can rebuild. The Church has done it before. While earthly empires crumble into dust, the Church picks up the pieces and carries on. So, it is still right to hope for goodness in this world, for as long as we remain faithful to God’s Word, we can hope for His blessing here and now. More than that, we have hope that goes beyond this world. Our King gives His life to us, and we will live in His Kingdom that cannot be destroyed.

Let us pray: Almighty God, merciful Father, You are right to be angry over our many sins. Yet, we flee to Your mercy that You have shown us in our Savior and His death on the cross for the world. Forgive us and restore us, that we may live holy lives and serve Your kingdom here while this world lasts. “Grant peace, we pray, in mercy, Lord; peace in our time, O send us! For there is none on earth but You, none other to defend us. You only, Lord, can fight for us” (LSB 777). We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our King, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the one true God, now and forever. Amen.