Confronting the Demons of Culture

We are at a point in our national history where the hot-button issues we currently face appear like the demon-possessed man Jesus met in Mark 5. The demon was the real problem, not the man who carried the dark presence. The fearful culture tried to chain the demon-possessed man but that natural solution failed. It was not until Jesus arrived and confronted the powers of darkness with the light of truth that real and lasting change took place. Today, the possibility of a demonic element at work in our politics and culture makes some in the Church feel uncomfortable. That uncomfortable feeling may be part of our problem.

Just as the demon-possessed man complained to Jesus that His presence was torturing him, so it is with anyone who holds a position and social posture different than the demonic agenda. We are seeing an increase in bizarre manifestations and confrontations taking place against truth in the public square. This is not just a reaction created by opposing positions and worldviews. Demons and dark agendas are reacting to the presence of light and truth.

Each of the influencing demons affecting our culture has a name. That is why Jesus asked the demon within the man to identify himself. That identification is necessary because it uncovers the influencing presence and identity that is controlling people and helps us see them as victims, not as perpetrators. If this distinction is not made we will continue to fight in the arena of a flesh and blood conflict, not in the realm of the Spirit where real and lasting change is possible. 

When the demons were sent into a herd of pigs and the possessed man was finally set free, he came back and sat at Jesus' feet dressed and in his right mind. I believe part of the reformation taking place in our culture will have a deliverance component. Individuals and institutions will emerge from a season of cultural insanity, delusion and demonic deception and sit before us as someone who has awakened from a nightmare. If you and I have been able to see the conflict as spiritual and not personal, those who eventually come to sit before us, spiritually clothed and in their right minds, will become our allies in the mission of God. That alliance will be the greatest affront to a demonic agenda of darkness.