I’ve been asked to explain something in light of the previous blog post. Our common Western cultural image of demons and the Devil are laughably inaccurate. I spend a couple of posts debunking and correcting some of the false ideas about them.
I don’t fear them. Not because they can’t hurt me; some of them owned me in times past, and I’m hardly finished chasing them out of my life. Their presence is simply part of the package of living here on earth. Under highly ideal circumstances with a proper culture and intellectual background, it’s possible to weaken their hold on you to the point of insignificance, even in this fallen world. Having a spiritual connection helps, but does not of itself drive them out of your soul. In other words, “born again” is not a panacea; it’s just the faculty by which we learn how to deal with them, and how spiritual power and authority works. They can still harm me, cause me suffering, but they no longer hinder my service in the Spirit Realm.
So using my talent for spiritual understanding, let me reveal something which should not be a secret: Defeating demons is a matter of clinging to God’s Laws. I’ve said that often enough, but sometimes it requires a shift in context to provide a fuller meaning. A commitment to the Covenant of Noah is the key. Once I understood that, and spent some time developing the implications, my fear went away. I remain fully aware of their presence, though it’s not my gift to sense them individually. Rather, I can recognize their footprints at the scene of the crime, their smell when I get too close to them. But I have to turn it on consciously. When I do, it’s not a matter of seeing shadows, smelling sulfur, or anything so melodramatic. It’s much more subtle.
It’s not brave combat one on one, either. The real field of battle is inside myself. I have to conquer the territory, turn the sword on myself, as it were. Once the truth of my sins have been brought into the blazing light of God’s Presence, then I can conquer them. That done, there is less in me which the demons can grab as leverage for manipulating me. Again, it’s not in terms of absolutes, because that’s one of their favorite lies. I don’t pretend I’m privy to the details, but the Courts of Heaven have ways of preventing certain excesses of demons based on purposes and technicalities beyond my ken. What I do know is the part left in my hands. I embrace the Laws of God; I confess my weakness and sin. I know I cannot meet the standard, but I also know God is merciful about such things. He meets me part way. That’s part of His justice. Purely in terms of this world and it’s underlying moral structure, I am covered well enough to be fairly safe in spiritually rough neighborhoods because they can’t afford to hinder me.
This situation is dynamic, and my safety waxes and wanes, but the general trend up to now has given me a measure of confidence. When you tell me some place is haunted, I would be one of the first in line to check it out. Surely I will evaluate the situation on a more mundane level, as most legends have some basis in fact. And other-worldly beings do exist, can cause real harm, but I’ve been allowed to learn their limits and defy them in a general way. Some parts of this simply defy explanation in any language I know, but the underlying truth is fairly simple: Embrace Noah’s Covenant and your situation regarding other-worldly beings, such as demons, will improve dramatically and quickly.
There’s no reason to imagine my understanding of this is out of your reach. It does not yield well to classical academic approaches, but it does yield to those who are inclined to pursue it with the higher faculties. If anything, I am simply just ahead of you on the same path of truth.
