The Demon Destroyer

One of my sons was doing a school assignment which involved making "trading cards" with challenging words.  He chose "colloquial" for one of the words.  For whatever reason, I find the word does not roll simply off the tongue!  Easier for me to define than pronounce, a "colloquialism" is an informal, commonly used word or term of phrase.  Colloquialisms can be slang, and they are often understood by local people yet sound completely foreign to others who speak the same language.  Australia is rife with colloquial terms which remain relatively unknown by other Australians.  Being an American, it's always strange when I use a colloquial term I have picked up over the years and a true-blue Aussie looks at me funny, totally unaware of what the septic just said.  There, I had to say it. :)

I find it interesting when a colloquialism has what I will call "crossover."  This is when a person uses a colloquialism which carried no special significance to them, but means something to someone else.  People use the expression "Oh my g.." without any belief in a literal God.  If they did believe in the God to which they refer, they certainly should think twice before uttering blasphemy because they know He is a holy, just God!  Another phrase I have heard much of late is when a struggling person is "battling his demons."  Many people who say this do not actually believe demons are malevolent spirit beings, but for me this is a colloquialism that has crossover.  I believe in the existence of demons as strongly as I do in the existence of human beings or God!  Someone who believes in the existence of demons may agree literally with the statement, whilst the one who says it only is speaking figuratively - "demons" being no more than negative self-talk or a catch-all which suggests inexplicable power apart from personal control.

I can't tell you how many times I have heard of celebrities, musicians, or depressed people "battling their demons" by people who do not believe in the existence of them.  The Bible reveals God created all things both in the spirit and natural world.  He created human beings distinct from all other animals and living things because He breathed into man a living soul - an immaterial, eternal aspect of a each person.  You are not your body, for your body is simply a vessel your soul inhabits for a season.  The spirits who have remained God's loyal servants are often referred to as angels, and those who have rebelled under the authority of Satan (once an angel himself) are called demons.  Since demons are unclean spirits who operate in a spiritual realm yet have the power to cross over into the natural realm we see, they cannot be battled through external means or effort.  How does one battle a demon he cannot see, touch, or perceive?  Unfortunately so many fight a losing battle with actual demons they do not believe in because they are going about the fight the wrong way.

Jesus amazed people through His power demonstrated when He cast unclean spirits out of people with a word.  The people of that day had pagan rituals and techniques of silencing and appeasing evil spirits who took possession of people's minds and bodies.  To this day in places the Word of God has had little exposure, demonic oppression and possession is a real part of life for many people.  In the west we have written off demonic power as "superstitious," and do not even address the potential spiritual aspects of mental illness or physical sickness.  In the east the pendulum is at the other extreme, with nearly every illnesses or accident being blamed on evil spirits.  Jesus did not need to recite incantations, splash holy water, or take a cross and press it into the face of the afflicted to deliver from demonic power:  He merely said the word, and the ones in bondage brought to Him were set free.

Jesus gave His followers power over unclean spirits, and the authority to cast out demons in His name is an attribute possessed by every genuine Christian.  We need not fear, for greater is the Holy Spirit within us than the devil or demons who are in this world.  Jesus said in Matthew 12:43-45:  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴ Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  Jesus compared the body of a person to a house.  Demons are like squatters who shack up in derelict, abandoned houses with all their filthy buddies.  Jesus cast out many demons, yet it was imperative those who had been swept clean in faith invited Jesus into their lives.  When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the hearts of believers through the Gospel, not even Satan himself can evict Him.  Through God born-again Christians have spiritual power and authority that has spiritual "crossover" through Christ and provides victory in the physical realm as well as spiritual.  There is no demonic horde too strong for God to overpower, bind, and throw out for good.  The power and victory is the LORD's, and He will make more than overcomers all who trust in Him.

We need not fear, though the mountains be removed and thrown into the sea:  God is the One who fights for His people.  Jesus Christ is the only hope we have to be forgiven from sins and saved from the power of wicked spirits.  The lasting image in my mind is one of Jesus Christ in Revelation 19:11-16, the One who will ultimately throw Satan and all demons into the lake of fire for eternity:  "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."