Spirit-Beings
God has an eternal family of spirit beings in heaven like Himself that have been endowed with intelligence, emotions and a will and they all have assigned tasks. According to the Bible there are those spirit beings that do God’s bidding and those who are in rebellion against Him. In fact in this spiritual realm you have the obedient sons of God and the disobedient sons of God that are spirit beings. Before the rebellion they were all sons of God and part of his heavenly family and undoubtedly involved in His affairs and related to His heavenly council who co-ruled with Him over the universe and beyond. We see them rejoicing when God was bringing forth creation (Job 38:7).
The phrase “sons of God” describes an order or class of spirit beings created by God. It can also mean rulers or judges or divine ones, not equal to God of course, but endowed with supernatural wisdom and intelligence and capable of performing functions in the service of God who created them. They are also involved in God’s Council or rulers in heaven. (Psalm 82:1) They are called Elohim (plural) or “gods.” (Psalm 82:6) In Daniel’s vision of the Ancient of Days he saw “thousands upon thousands attending Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him.” There were thrones placed in the heavenly court and the Ancient of Days, the LORD Himself, took His seat in the council. (Daniel 7:9-10)
It is interesting that we are told in the Book of Job that there were “sons of God” that had access to God. (Job 1:6; 2:1) They were present when God created the earth. (Job 38:7) In the Hebrew the word “sons” means “children belonging to a certain order of class of beings.” As “sons” it means that they have a father or creator which is God Himself and they are masculine in character, not feminine. The Triune God Himself is the ultimate and perfect and eternally existing Elohim, the supreme Spirit being who is plural in nature yet one God. There is no other like Him. The other spirit beings are all created beings and also called Elohim but are created beings and have an eternal nature as humans also have once they are born into this world. As scripture says; “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) So then when you look at the phrase “the sons of God” in relation to the order of spirit beings that God created you have them defined as ones who are “rulers, judges, divine ones, angels, gods or godlike ones.” They reflect the character of the ultimate and supreme Elohim being God Himself.
An invasion of the Occult
Today we see an invasion of the occult like nothing that has previously existed in history. Satan is called “the god of this world.” While he does not have total control over the earth he does have control over the unregenerate minds and hearts and actions of the unsaved living in it. (2 Corinthians 4:4) Fallen human beings are under his authority and subject to the power and dominance of his fallen spirit-beings or angels dwelling in the unseen spiritual realm in the atmosphere just above the surface of the earth. In fact Satan also lives in this realm. He is called “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2)
The word used for “air” actually denotes the atmosphere just above the surface of the earth and it is this unseen spiritual world where Satan is the prince or the ruler over this domain of existence. From this unseen spiritual realm he has access to humans and their affairs. (Job 2:2) The atmosphere where he and his fallen angels operate from is the same air space where the television, radio and internet waves travel around the globe. The media by and large is under the control of him and his fallen angels.
Believers in the Lord Jesus are no longer under Satan’s control but are engaged in a spiritual wrestling match with Satan and his hierarchy of fallen spirit beings who are intelligent, emotional and have supernatural power to afflict the minds, the hearts and the will and physical constitution of men. (Ephesians 6:12) We see this clearly revealed in those who were demon possessed during the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Not only do believers in the Lord Jesus have to contend with these fallen spirit-beings in the atmosphere but also with demon spirits that are confined to the earth. These demons are disembodied spirits. In the Book of Enoch we are told that they are the spirits of the physically dead Nephilim also called “the fallen ones” who were the bi-product of the fallen spirit-beings also called “the sons of God” who themselves had sexual relations with human women before the flood. (Genesis 6:1-4) (1 Enoch: 19:8)
When you look at the depravity, the death, the disease, the extreme poverty and suffering, the wars, the famines, the earthquakes, the pollution of the planet and the air, the immorality, the sodomy, the lying, the adultery, the cheating and all of the works of the flesh you can see the havoc Satan and his fallen spirit beings in the atmosphere and living on the earth are wreaking on humanity. It is clear that there has been a satanic infiltration of the human race that will have its climax in the man of sin himself who will be personally indwelt by Satan. The man of sin is also called “the son of perdition.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) The only other man called this was Judas Iscariot into whom Satan entered personally when he got Judas to betray the Lord Jesus. (John 17:12) (Luke 22:3) (John 13:27)
In the Word of God, the Bible, there are three accounts of satanic infiltration of the human race. The first of these was in the Garden of Eden, the second one was just before the flood when the fallen “sons of God” or spirit beings co-habited with human women and produced satanic offspring and the third was at the Tower of Babel. However, we are seeing a fourth satanic infiltration today that will see the emergence of the man of sin preceded by all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders. These counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders are themselves portals through which seducing spirits can secretly introduce destructive heresies to mingle truth and error together to deceive even the elect saints of God. (2 Peter 2:1) (Matthew 24:24) (1Timothy 4:1-2)
Those who do not love the truth and refuse to be saved and have delighted in wickedness will be deceived by this man of sin because God himself will have sent them a powerful delusion so that they are no longer able to respond to the truth even when they hear it. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) So let’s now look at the first satanic infiltration that occurred according to the Bible.
1. The Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden was a literal garden and the Bible gives us its geographical boundaries. (Genesis 2:10-14) Adam supported by his wife Eve was to govern over the rest of the world, to be fruitful and to multiply and to subdue the earth meaning making sure that all things remained under the governance of God. (Genesis 1:28-30) Man was made in God’s image and likeness and this of course included free will. (Genesis 2:15-17) We are also told in the Bible that at one time Lucifer, before he fell and became known as Satan, dwelt in the Eden of God (Ezekiel 28:13). He could converse with Adam and Eve and he was not a frightening looking character but very attractive and very sensual at that. (Genesis 3:1-4) (Ezekiel 28:12-13) He knew what ‘buttons’ to press concerning Eve. He knew that he most likely could not deceive Adam so he went for the man’s wife and through his wife he got to the man. (Genesis 3:6) Once Adam and Eve had yielded to the temptation to act independently from God Satan had now found an entrance into God’s Human family.
Adam and Eve had invited him into the world to take authority over human beings. Through Adam and Eve’s disobedience physical and spiritual death came upon all men. God’s earthly family had been defiled. Satan now had a foothold in the earth and this opened the door for all of those spirit-beings under his authority to also enter into human affairs to kill, to steal and to destroy humans made in God’s image and likeness. There is a story told of a young woman engaged to a man who left her to live in another country. She could not get to him. However, she had a photo or image of him and threw it on the ground and stomped all over it and defiled the image of her former fiancé. You see Satan could not get to God so he attacked His image being man.
Having said this God also said that He would put enmity between Satan’s offspring and Eve’s offspring and that through her offspring our Lord Jesus the Messiah who was to come would defeat Satan and take back his authority and power over man. Satan would bruise the heel of the messiah in that He would die but rise to life again. However, through the Messiah’s death He would deal Satan a permanent death blow a ”crushing of his head” and defeat that would see Satan ending up in the lake of fire. The seed of the woman then was the Lord Jesus and by extension and inclusion those who would become His followers. The seed of Satan would be the man of sin and by inclusion and extension all who follow Satan. (Genesis 3:15) Today we see this enmity between Jesus’ followers and Satan’s followers at work.
In the atmosphere above the earth’s surface you have “the sons of light,” being the faithful spirit-beings who obey God and serve Him and minister to His saints on earth, fighting a war in this unseen spiritual realm with “the sons of darkness” being the fallen spirit-beings in rebellion against God and persecuting the saints on earth. We see a glimpse of this spiritual conflict in the unseen spiritual world in the Book of Daniel when the principality (the spirit being) over Persia (Iran) sought to hinder Daniel’s prayer from being answered having hindered it being given for 21 days. (Daniel 10:13)
Today this same spirit-being is still the principality over Iran. The spiritual conflict on earth we see between the saved and the unsaved is indicative of the spiritual battle going on in the unseen spiritual realm in the atmosphere just above the surface of the earth. Of course because the seed of the woman, the Messiah, had crushed the serpents head at the cross, the ultimate victory of the saints is assured. Those on earth who follow the Lord Jesus are also “sons of the Light” and those who follow Satan are also “sons of the darkness.” There is no doubt every born again, blood washed, Bible believing Christian is constantly engaged in a spiritual wrestling match with Satan and his spirit-beings in the atmosphere and with his demons confined to the earth. It is a battle being waged on two fronts, one in the unseen realm and the other on earth among men. (Ephesians 6:12)
So then Adam and Eve gave Satan authority over the mind and hearts of all humans to be born into the world and sin from the time of conception became part of every son and daughter born of Adam’s race. (Romans 5:12) (Psalm 51:5) Before He went to the cross to reverse the curse on man the Lord Jesus did not deny Satan’s authority over mankind given to him by Adam and Eve in the garden. (Matthew 4:9) (Luke 4:6) Of course once the Lord Jesus had died and risen again He took back Satan’s authority over man. (Colossians 2:15)
Now if someone, having been convicted of their sin by the Holy Spirit, genuinely wants to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus to save them from the power and penalty of sin there is nothing Satan can do about it. He will always try to hinder the process of course but his power to keep them enslaved to sin against their will to be free from it is no longer there. Satan’s power to keep men enslaved to sin has been deactivated by the atoning blood of the Messiah. Once a ‘sinner’ becomes a ‘saint’ they are transferred by God out from Satan’s kingdom of darkness and brought into God’s kingdom of marvellous light. (1 Peter 2:9-10) (Colossians 1:13-14)
So then in the Garden of Eden we see the first satanic infiltration of the human race and of course we have seen the results in the world of the fall ever since then. Through this infiltration Satan brought about spiritual death for the human race. However there was another satanic infiltration that was so powerful upon men that their wickedness became so bad that God had to send the flood. How did this second infiltration occur?
2. The sons of God .
We read about this in Genesis Chapter six; “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.” (Genesis 6:1-4)
Jude writes about this in his epistle; “And the angels (sons of God) who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day-just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:6-7)
Here we see that Jude links this satanic infiltration with what was happening in Sodom and Gomorrah which were known for their sodomy. The word “sodomy” is derived from the name of Sodom. Unnatural sexual relations have their source in this second satanic infiltration of the human race by his ‘henchmen.’ Today we are faced with another satanic infiltration which we will look at later in this study.
In Genesis 6:5-8 we see the horrendous effects of this second satanic infiltration. Man’s wickedness had come to the point where we are told that “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” In other words the imagination was involved. Added to this it was a world filled with violence and bloodshed and man had been spiritually corrupted to the point where they could no longer even call upon the LORD. Their consciences were well and truly seared as with a hot iron and they were incapable of repenting. (6:11-12) Only Noah and his family were saved in the end. (6:8-9) at the end of this age a remnant both in Israel and by extension and inclusion the faithful Body of the Messiah, will be rescued. While unnumbered multitudes will have been saved the majority of mankind will perish.
Now in the Book of Enoch we have given to us insight as to how this second satanic infiltration of the human race occurred. We are told that Satan (Called Samyaza in the Book of Enoch) called together 200 spirit-beings like himself and they all swore that they would descend to Mt Hermon and from there infiltrate humanity to teach them how to commit evil with man’s self-destruction in view. According to the Book of Enoch Satan had seventeen chief spirit-beings, his generals as it were, who had command over the other spirit-beings and together they descended to Mt Hermon to work their wicked ways among men. These fallen spirit-beings called “sons of God” co-habited with human women and taught them sorcery, incantations and the diving of roots and trees (witchcraft)
These fallen spirit-beings who produced the Nephalim (the fallen ones) from having sexual relations with human women taught them to make swords, knives, shields, breastplates, the fabrication of mirrors (vanity) and the workmanship of bracelets and ornaments, the use of paint (cosmetics), the beautifying of the eyebrows, the use of stones of every valuable and select kind, and of all sorts of dyes, so that the world became altered from what God had originally intended the world to be.
Enoch also tells us specifically who these spirit-beings were who taught this wickedness. Enoch writes; “Impiety increased; fornication multiplied; and they transgressed and corrupted all their ways and most likely were the source of Sodomy. Amazarak taught all the sorcerers, and dividers of roots: Armers taught the solution of sorcery; Barkayal taught the observers of the stars, (Astrologers) Akibeel taught signs; Tamiel taught astronomy; And Asaradel taught the motion of the moon.” (Enoch chapters 7-8) Enoch also tells us that these spirit-beings were originally from heaven but that their offspring the Nephilim were of the earth and after these giants on earth had died physically that they became demons or disembodied spirits. These demons or disembodied spirits most likely were the ones who confronted the Lord Jesus and the apostles during their ministries. These had to have bodies to live in either human or even animals. We see this in the account in the gospel when the demons begged the Lord Jesus to go into the pigs. (Enoch 15:8)
Caesarea Philippi, which stood in a lush area near the foot of Mount Hermon, was a city dominated by immoral activities and pagan worship. Caesarea Philippi stood only twenty-five miles from the religious communities of Galilee. But the city’s religious practices were vastly different from those of the nearby Jewish towns. In Old Testament times, the North eastern area of Israel became a centre for Baal worship. In the nearby city of Dan, Israelite king Jeroboam built the high place that angered God and eventually led the Israelites to worship false gods. Eventually, worship of the Baals was replaced with worship of Greek fertility gods. Caesarea Philippi became the religious centre for worship of the Greek god, Pan. The Greeks named the city Panias in his honour. Years later, when Romans conquered the territory, Herod Philip rebuilt the city and named it after himself. But Caesarea Philippi continued to focus on worship of Greek gods. In the cliff that stood above the city, local people built shrines and temples to Pan.
To the pagan mind, the main cave set at the bottom of Mt Hermon at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld, where fertility gods lived during the winter. The people committed detestable acts to worship these false gods. The pagans of Jesus’ day commonly believed that their fertility gods lived in the underworld during the winter and returned to earth each spring. They saw water as a symbol of the underworld and thought that their gods travelled to and from that world through caves. To the pagan mind, then, the cave and spring water at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld. They believed that their city was literally at the gates of the underworld. In order to entice the return of their god, Pan, each year, the people of Caesarea Philippi engaged in horrible deeds, including prostitution and sexual interaction between humans and goats. When the Lord Jesus was transfigured on Mt Hermon He was showing the spirit-world of Satan and his cronies both in the atmosphere and those roaming the earth that they were still subject to the Lord Jesus and would ultimately be defeated by His resurrection.
The transfiguration on Mt Hermon saw the Lord Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah in the spiritual realm out of time as we know it down here on earth and they all shone with the same brilliance. This was a future view of the rapture and resurrection of all believers. Moses had died physically and he was a type of believers who die physically in this age, However, Elijah was raptured and he is a type of believers still living in their bodies when Jesus comes back. Notice that Moses and Elijah appeared at the same time together with the Lord Jesus. It was a picture of the rapture and resurrection of all the saints that will be the one and the same event. (Matthew 24:29-31) (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
Also it shows the ultimate victory of the saints of God over all of the power of Satan and his henchman. Undoubtedly the Lord Jesus would have known about the Book of Enoch and other Jewish literature which He would have had access to having been taught from a very young age by the rabbis in the Temple and schooled in Jewish theology. Even as a young boy He excelled in knowledge above them all. (Luke 2:47) He most certainly would have known about this gateway at the foot of Mt Hermon where the spirit world had access to the world of humans.
So then we see the second satanic infiltration of the human race happened when the sons of God, the spirit beings, cohabited with human women and produced offspring or what we could call “demonoids” being called the Nephilim or “fallen ones.” This would have been the source of Greek Mythology where we see “the gods” co-habiting withy women and producing half divine, half human, men like Hercules. It is interesting that the Lord Jesus said that as it was in the days of Noah before the flood so it will be in the days before He comes back. (Matthew 24:37-39) They were eating drinking, marrying and conducting business as usual but also behind these things lurked an invasion of the occult into the world that brought about the flood. It would seem the gateway between the spirit-world and this world in this matter was at Mt Hermon according to Enoch. (Enoch 7:7-8) The “sons of god” cohabiting with human women brought upon the whole world the flood. In the last days the same thing will occur only this time the world will be judged by fire. (2 Peter 3:5-7) Then we have the third infiltration after the flood.
3. The Tower of Babel
Josephus tells us that Nimrod built the tower of Babel as an act of defiance and resentment against God because of the flood God had brought upon the former wicked generation. According to the historian Josephus, Nimrod “said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to reach. And that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 4). The motive, according to Josephus, for building the Tower of Babel was to protect humanity against another flood. But the reason for the first flood was humanity’s wickedness and rebellion (Genesis 6:5–6), from which humanity refused to repent. Nimrod was rebellious against God, just like his antediluvian forebears, and, according to Josephus, he “persuaded [his subjects] not to ascribe [their strength] to God, as if it were through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness” (in the work already cited). We are told in Genesis that Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the LORD but the Hebrew says he was a mighty hunter in the face of God. (Genesis 10:9) In other words he was an arch-rebel against God. He was the first major type of the man of sin to come at the end of this age.
Nimrod built the ancient cities of Babylon and Nineveh. In the Bible the kings of Babylon and Assyria were also types of the man of sin (the antichrist) to come. Now the Tower of Babel was in fact a Ziggurat, a place ascending into the skies that was built to connect heaven and earth and a place to offer sacrifices to the deities to bring them to earth, a time portal as it were with access to the unseen spiritual world. Of course men could not go through this portal but the spirit-beings could and did. This Ziggurat was built on the plain of Shinar, the location of Babylon. In fact Genesis tells us the motive that Nimrod and those who assisted him had in building the tower. “Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4)
This of course was Satan’s agenda when he said; in his heart; “‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:13-14) Nimrod had himself deified and is the harbinger of the coming man of sin of whom we are told “will do as he pleases and will magnify himself above every god or spirit-being and will say unheard of things against the god of gods or spirit-beings.” (Daniel 11:36) This is the same one who “opposes and exults himself over everything that is called god or is worshipped, and even sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:4) Of course Satan and his man of sin in whom he will dwell, will both be cast down into the fiery pit by the Lord Jesus after He has come back. (Isaiah 14:9-15) (Revelation 19:20) All of the Islamic nations that have followed the man of sin will also go down into the pit in wholesale lots! Ezekiel names the nations that will go down into the pit and they are all Islamic nations today. (Ezekiel 32)
Through Nimrod Satan tried to set up a global empire to opposes God and to promote witchcraft and perversion of every kind but God stepped in and confused the people’s languages and they were then scattered across the face of the earth. The rebellion had failed. Having said this, the future man of sin will have a military empire at his disposal like nothing else that has ever existed before. Today we see this empire arising in the earth in the empire of Islam. It will be a Middle-Eastern Empire according to the Prophet Daniel. Its geographical boundaries will encompass the whole Middle-east and sweep into most of Africa and even into parts of Europe and the western democracies will be hard-pressed to stop the expansion of this empire. Already we see it being established as ‘a Trojan Horse’ within every western democracy today.
So then though the Tower of Babel Satan tried to build a global empire and his man through whom he would do this would be Nimrod, however, the LORD put a stop to this. The restraining power of the blessed Holy Spirit, stopped this from happening at that time. Having said this now leads us to the final satanic infiltration into the human race that will culminate with the coming of the man of sin and he will come in on the flood-tide of all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders and in every sort of evil that will deceive those who are spiritually perishing because they refuse to love and obey the truth. In that day God Himself will send those who rebel against Him a powerful delusion so that they will no longer be able to hear and respond to the truth even when they hear it. They will be condemned already because they have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12.)
So now let’s look at the fourth time when satanic infiltration is even now occurring in the world. It is more seductive and spiritually corrupting because it affects the imagination because of the images that bombard it through the media. Spirit-beings are now gaining access into this world like never before because Satan knows that his time is now short and so he has despatched all of his spiritual forces (spirit-beings) in the atmosphere and those confined to the earth (demons-disembodied spirits) to wreak havoc on the earth and to destroy man but of course ultimately Satan and his hierarchy will never succeed in doing this. Now let’s look at this fourth satanic infiltration of the human race.
4. The Cyber world.
In the time of Noah we are told that “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all of the time.” (Genesis 6:5) Today a global generation of young people are being spiritually seduced into the spirit world through computer games and virtual reality encounters which take them into another dimension.
Virtual reality technology is the portal through which the last satanic infiltration is taking place and hi jacking the imaginations of billions of young people arounds the globe. It is a master strategy of Satan. There is nothing wrong with technology in itself but in the hands of fallen man it becomes a tool of Satan.
Another portal is the Internet. Now again the internet is a source of information and not all of it bad of course but in the hands of fallen man it has become a problem of epidemic proportions. We need to always keep in mind that Satan is “the prince of the power of the air’ or “the atmosphere.” It is his domain and the portal through which the television and internet waves travel. Everything on the internet and in the cyber world of virtual reality and computer games is geared towards infecting and controlling the imagination.
Just go into any shop that sells computer games and virtual reality games and you will see pornography, murder, violence, witchcraft, wizards, spells, magic and occult arts. Many of the movies and dramas and books and DVD’s are satiated with all kinds of sexual perversion and through these portals Satan and his cohorts from Hades are defiling and destroying man who has been made in God’s image and likeness and the main portal of entry for his spirit-beings and demons is the imagination. What happened in the time of Noah is happening again and the world is heading for a deluge of fire this time and not water. (2 Peter 3:3-7)
As believers in our Lord Jesus the spiritual wrestling match we encounter everyday will become more intense as the day of the LORD draws closer. If you have been born again by the blessed Holy Spirit then you have two natures within you now. You still have the old nature of course but also a new nature, the very nature of the Lord Jesus being also the divine nature and you are a son of God and part of His heavenly family on earth and one spirit with Him. (2 Peter 1:4) (Galatians 3:26) (Romans 9:26) (Hebrews 2:10) (Revelation 21:7) (1 Corinthians 6:17) Paul tells us that these two natures are constantly at war with each other. (Galatians 6:16-18)
It has been said that the nature we feed the most is the one that will ultimately control us. This is why we must be careful what we allow to affect our imagination. Images always affect the imagination more than any other stimulus whether they come through photos, glossy magazines, television, movies and especially the cyber world today. Virtual reality is so real that the images look and speak like real human beings. Fantasy of every kind is coming through the portal of the cyber world today. Even now they are working on robotics and seeking to produce human looking robots programmed to indulge every desire of man including sexual relations.
The time will come when they will be so life like that they will look and speak and even express emotions as humans. These will be used especially in the sexual area. These may well become portals through which demons can have sexual relations with humans. In the initiation rites of the occult practice of black necromancy in the caverns of the necromancers the initiates have been known to have sexual relationships with demons or even spirit-beings as they did in the Book of Genesis.
The time may well come when we see Nephilim walking this earth once again that will look human and act human but have supernatural abilities and prowess that is beyond the human power of mere mortals. They may not be giants as such but they will be supernaturally endowed. When you look at science fiction today in movies and in cyber space it may well be more aligned to reality than one can contemplate. Many of the monsters and creatures we see in movies today and over the internet and depicted in computer and virtual reality games may well be how the demons in hades look that afflict those imprisoned in that place being the haven of the tormenters Jesus spoke about. (Matthew 18:34)
Casting down imaginations
As believers in the Lord Jesus we have the blessed Holy Spirit to empower us to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, to overcome the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Through the power and help of the Holy Spirit we can overcome every obstacle Satan throws at us. (Galatians 5:24-25) (Romans 8:12-14) Because the imagination is so powerful we must be very aware of how it can become polluted especially through the eye gate. We must exercise spiritual discernment in what we allow ourselves to watch whether it is on television, over the internet or in cyber space as these are Satan’s portals of entry today. The apostle Paul gave us some good advice which at times is very hard to maintain but maintain it we must if we want to make progress in our spiritual life. He wrote; “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly (of human origin) but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) This relates to the thought life which of course includes the imagination.
Think of these things
He also wrote; “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard (garrison) your hearts and your minds in the Messiah Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:4-9)
Running with perseverance
As bond slaves of the Lord Jesus the challenge we have facing us today presents itself as a difficult and spiritually dangerous path we must avoid at all costs, summed up by the writer to the Hebrews who wrote; “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance (perseverance) the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
