In the last post we saw that we are living in the context of a cultural wasteland. Next, we will examine the second symbol Nathan Stone presents. We must realize that the wasteland is in fact inhabited by the Evil One.   

Working from an atheistic framework and recognizing only half the universe, as moderns and postmodernists do, there is no concept of a spiritual realm; there is no concept of evil or the personification of evil. It is impossible for those who deny half the universe to even contemplate that the demonic is real. They usually relegate these thoughts to pre-modern mythology. However, the spiritual realm is real and there are real forces of evil that work to influence people and society. Stone writes, “If we were just in the wilderness, that would be challenging enough. But within the wilderness lives the Gorgon.” 

Maybe you are like me, I had never heard of the Gorgons until now. Stone suggests that the Gorgons – three hideous sisters of Greek mythology – inhabit the wilderness. The Greek word gorgós means grim or dreadful. It is not simply that the wilderness or the wasteland exists, it is in fact inhabited by evil. 

We often talk about culture wars, and these are real. But it must be understood that at the root of our conflicts are the spiritual wars going on in the heavenlies. Satan has declared himself at war against God! What is happening in our world today is not merely bad, it is evil and has its root in the demonic realm. It is the kind of evil we have historically seen before in Hitler’s Germany, Mao’s China, Stalin’s Russia, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, and now in Hamas’ Gaza. 

Stone writes that the regressive left is functioning as the army of the evil one: 

The left — from those in Congress and … The New York Times, to the local school librarian who makes pornographic books accessible to ten-year-olds — must be regarded as the enemy and fought.

Now that evidence is public that they are, in fact, coming for the children (as well as our history, our heritage, our culture, and us) we can no longer pretend this is a policy or intellectual or even philosophical debate. The left wants to devour you. Only its utter defeat can prevent that.

I recognize that these are strong, fighting words. The questions that arise for me and many others are: How do we as followers of Christ fight against these forces of evil? Is this a call to take up arms or is this a call to prayer or is it something in between? We will explore these questions in a future blog. Right now, I want you to recognize that our mode of operation as believers must change if we are to truly remain faithful to Christ in these times. 

As we continue to acknowledge evil, we turn to the scriptures. The Apostle Paul speaks clearly about the nature of this evil (Ephesians 6:12):  

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Where is the Evil One taking us? His goal is the utter destruction of Judeo-Christianity and Western Civilization which was founded on the worship of the Creator, and His Son, Jesus Christ. 

He wants to replace the glory of God with an atheistic religion where half the universe is gone. He wants us to either have a solely material reality (Modernism) or a completely relativistic reality (Postmodernism). Either of these lead to the worship of idols which inevitably results in pagan lifestyles.

Again, the Apostle Paul describes it this way (Romans 1:19-23):

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Again, the Evil One knows that when we fail to worship God, we do not cease to worship. He encourages people to substitute the worship of God with Humanism, the worship of man, or Animism, the worship of Nature. This is all part of the Evil One’s plan: turn people away from worshipping the one true God so that they will become reflections of the inferior “gods” that they behold.

Ultimately, the Evil One wants to manifest himself and all his power in something like the modern-day tower of Babel; the kingdom of man in all its glory, tyranny in all its grandeur.

The One true God made people to be free to choose life or death. Make no mistake about it, the evil one wants to eliminate people’s sense of choice. He wants to make people robots of the state.

Do you recognize this road we are on? Do you really want to end up where this road takes us? Who is willing, amid our secular world, to call out evil? Who is willing to acknowledge that the problems in our country and the West today are not simply political or economic? Who is willing to call evil by its rightful name? Are you?

It’s not a popular stance to take these days, but it is clarifying. What do believers need now more than clarity?

The problems we face are moral and spiritual at their root, not simply institutional. Today, institutions are failing us, and civil order is breaking down because moral and spiritual order has broken down in the culture at large and even in the church! Make no mistake, electing a new president, passing new laws will do little to save our nations. It will take a spiritual revival that will support the hard work of cultural reformation. People’s hearts and minds must be awakened to the reality that we live in a moral wasteland, and we are losing ground to the evil one!

We need to move from a society of victimhood and dependence on bureaucrats to a nation of hardworking, creative problem solvers. We must return to first principles and a Biblical worldview, and live again as responsible, self-governing people. We must return to “We the People!” We must take responsibility for the problems we see on the local level.

We must choose to either fight the agenda of the Evil One or become enslaved to it.

In this blog we have seen that the wilderness is not merely a wilderness; it is inhabited by forces of evil. In the next blog we will look at the demonic roots of evil in the wasteland and its influence on human beings and institutions.

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