Dracula and Demons

I remember seeing Tod Browning’s Dracula as a young girl.  Bela Lugosi terrified me.  The thought of something that on the outside looked dashing and mysterious (but on the inside was pure evil), waiting to take hold of my soul, was one that caused me to make sure my windows were tightly locked at night!

Today though I had an interesting thought…

Satan is a lot like a vampire.

  • He cannot enter a home (or your heart) without an invitation.  James 4:7 reminds us to “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

  • He fears the sunlight (or Son light). “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed” – John 3:20

  • The attack will often come when we are “sleeping.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 says, “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.  We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.”

  • What he offers might look good on the outside, but in the end will lead to death.  Starting with the first temptation in the Garden of Eden, Satan promised Adam and Eve that if they ate the fruit their eyes would be opened and they would be like God, knowing good from evil.  Sounds perfectly harmless at first.  But, like so many things happening in our world right now, he has hidden his evil intentions in something that “sounds good”.

I look at our world today and think the evil we see is not of this earth.  I believe It is a manifestation of a spiritual warfare that is raging all around us, one in which Satan continues to use half-truths and lies to steal people’s souls.  And sadly, his effectiveness often comes because he “couches” his lies in such a way that opposing him makes us sound uncaring, or unloving.

Two quotes come to mind:

  • "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled is convincing the world he didn't exist". - Charles Baudelaire, poet
  • "The second greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he was the good guy." - Ken Ammi, author

So how do we go about combatting something that is far scarier than a vampire?:

  •  Recognize the battle is a spiritual one.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)
  • Acknowledge that Satan is real.  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
  •  Understand God’s truths by digging into the Bible.   All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17
  • Put On the Full Armor of God.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted ith the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God - Ephesians 6:10-18 

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