A dark city
I realised recently that I have become almost completely oblivious to the fact of spiritual warfare. Ever the one to react rather than respond, some years ago I swung away from the belief that there is an enemy in Satan who is in constant conflict with the advancing kingdom of God, and therefore want to harass the people of that kingdom - like you and me. I think I was overreacting to those Christians who see a sinister pattern in every little calamity of life. Couple that with the cartoon image of satan, complete with horns, pitchfork and red cape, and it’s easy to see how one could maintain a theory of spiritual warfare, while not really acknowledging that it is happening in practice. C. S. Lewis famously taught us that Satan is happy, either with people who are obsessed with his existence, or ignore it altogether. But just the briefest glance at the life and ministry of Jesus demonstrates the reality of dark powers. And in Ephesus, demonic spirits infested the culture there, with its preoccupation with paganism and sorcery. It was there that the so-called seven sons of Sceva learned with cuts and bruises, that the name of Jesus was and is more powerful than the forces of darkness, but Christ’s authority is only available to his friends and followers, and not those who try to use his name as a borrowed magic formula. The powers of darkness are real, and undeniably clever - someone has said that the devil’s shoes don’t creak, and we need to be mindful that we really are involved in warfare. But that said, let’s not be paranoid, but confident. This war is not contested between two equals that are God and satan - far from it. The triumph of Jesus at the cross and in the resurrection and ascension mean that ultimately the dark powers have been tamed. We take them seriously but we are not afraid, resting in God’s power and authority.