Last week I made the point that our current political upheaval is not political or cultural in its origin – but is spiritual. Our problem is, as Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “Men have forgotten God.”
We also made the point, from James 3:15-16, that worldly wisdom is “earthly, natural, and demonic.” It produces “disorder and every evil thing,” suggesting that
our cultural upheaval is exacerbated by satanic influence, and is not merely the result of a broken world.
Spiritual Blindness
2 Timothy 2:24-26 reinforces this conclusion. Paul encourages church leaders to be gentle in correcting those in opposition, “
if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
When we work this passage backwards, we see:
- People are being held captive by the devil to do his will.
- Because they have not come to a knowledge of the truth.
- Because they have not repented of sin.
While the sin in 2 Timothy is not identified, CS Lewis famously said, “pride is the mother hen under which all of the sins are hatched.” That is, pride (or self-will) is the root of all other sin.
Putting this together, we see that self-will, if not repented of, causes one to not be able to come to a knowledge of the truth, allowing that person to be held captive by the devil to do his will.
This idea of being blinded to the truth is reinforced in 2 Corinthians 4:4, which says, “
the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.” The context of this passage has to do with salvation, but it meshes consistently with the broader context of 2 Timothy 2:24-26.
This can help explain some people who are radical in their belief of incomprehensible falsehoods. We wonder sometimes how in the world anyone could possibly believe what they believe!?! The answer could very well be that they are blinded by Satan, unable to come to a knowledge of the truth, and as a result, they are used by him to do his will, which is to foment "disorder and every evil thing."
Spiritual Warfare
Combined with the blog last week, where we made the point that there are
powerful demons assigned to countries of the world (Daniel 10), and likely, a hierarchy of demons serving under them (Ephesians 6:12), this spiritual blindness can further explain the dark, sinister, evil violence and mayhem currently being played out on the streets of some of our cities.
And, it further reinforces the Satanic origin of our cultural upheaval. This is not to say that the people fomenting this mayhem are demon-possessed. They may or may not be. One can be blinded without being possessed. But it is to say that they may be incapable of coming to a knowledge of the truth without repentance, because they are spiritually blinded.
Spiritual Tactics
As a result, we closed the blog last week by saying that we should work within our democratic political system to oppose unbiblical upheaval, we should vote next November for those who will help uphold biblical values, but more than anything we should pray. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says,
"First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."
But in addition to praying for those who are in authority, we can also pray for those individuals who are fomenting the violence and mayhem.
- They are people
- Created in the image of God
- Blinded by Satan
- Under the threat of eternal judgment
- Needing salvation
We can pray that the Lord will override the collective political upheaval, but at the same time, we can pray that the Lord will break through their individual blindness and give them the opportunity to come to Christ.
We can be justly angry with the violence and mayhem we see. We can call upon God to thwart their influence. But we cannot hate them (Matthew 5:44). They are individuals for whom Christ died.
As we pray for the Lord to work through “those who are in authority” to bring about collective peace, we can also pray for the individuals involved that they might “be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
Conclusion
Hearkening back to our original idea by Solzhenitsyn, we remind ourselves that our problems are the result of the fact that “men have forgotten God.” In the same way, our response must be to remember God in our solution: (1) praying for the Lord to give us collective peace (1 Timothy 2:1-2), and (2) praying for the individuals, that God will lead them to personal peace in Christ (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
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