Reformed Reflections

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in.. them." (C. S. Lewis. The Screw tape Letters.)

For many years the devil's best jokes were to tell everybody that he didn't exist. For years, modernist theologians have maintained that there was no such a being as a personal devil. This concept belonged to the Middle Ages, but not to the age of reason. After years of being ignored by many theologians and ordinary believers, the devil is making a dramatic comeback. He is no longer ignored or considered an oddity only fundamentalists believed in. What is happening now? Occultist and mystical books are the unacknowledged best sellers of our day. You just take a look in the bookshops and see the mass of literature on these subjects. Millions dabble in astrology, witchcraft, the black mass and fortune telling, Mr. Kurt Koch lists forty-seven such movements in his book "The Devi's' Alphabet." There are now "churches" dedicated to the worship of Satan. In some places the Satanic Bible written by the Church of Satan founder Anton Vey is outselling the Holy Bible. Why this alarming development?

Many cannot see meaning in life any more. Materialism does not satisfy. Liberal Christianity has very little to offer and evangelicals have wasted too much time with in-fighting. There is an open cynicism in our culture. And when meaning is gone, then the exploration of sensation takes place.

Do you still wonder whether or not the Devil exists? The terrible chapters in the history of mankind offer ample proof of his existence. The Bible teaches that there are personal evil spirits, who are under the leadership of Satan. He is the supreme ruler of his evil armies. There is in this world an enemy we dare not snub. He has been present at the beginning of human history and will be with us until the last of days. Christians must never underestimate the strength of the foe. He is a skillful strategist. He knows the weakest spots in us. His sole aim is to deceive, to entice, and to ensnare his victim. We must be aware of the father of lies, the devil. We should learn the truth about our enemy. To live as if the devil is not so dangerous is to turn the world into a paradise for fools. But to let the devil and all the evil around us throw a permanent shadow across our lives is not right either, The devil is powerful. But Christ has overcome on the cross of Calvary. The battle is won. The victory is His. With this knowledge we can dare to face all the onslaughts of the defeated foe.
Christ is victor!

"Christ has disarmed the principalities and powers,
He has made an open example of them,
He has triumphed over them in His cross."

Johan D. Tangelder
September, 1971