Jonathan Cahn’s most recent book, The Return of the Gods, is an interesting read and, I think, one I would recommend for your consideration. The book rests on a parable Jesus told in the Gospel of Matthew.

When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation (Matthew 12:43-45).

The gist of this parable is that a man was demonized by an evil spirit and the spirit was cast out. After a season, the spirit returned to see if it could regain entrance to the man. Because the man had not filled the vacancy in his soul with the Holy Spirit and the things of God, the unclean spirit moved in again with seven other spirits more wicked than before. The man was then worse off at the end than he had been in the beginning.

The interesting twist in the parable is that Jesus concludes the condition of the man in the parable actually describes the condition of the generation that was about to reject Jesus. Chan’s conclusion is that evil spirits can possess or demonize not only individuals but entire nations or cultures. That seems to be confirmed by scripture when all of Israel, as well as other nations, would worship the same idols (evil spirits) for generations. In the ancient world, idols were worshipped in every home, under every spreading tree, and in temples, large and small, throughout the known world. Scripture says that behind each of these idols is a demonic spirit drawing worship away from God and unto itself. Behind each idol is a demon whose ultimate goal is to kill, steal and destroy a person or a nation. Any study of ancient history clearly reveals that entire cultures – religion, politics, art, architecture, and science were organized around the pagan beliefs, rituals, and sacrifices related to these demonic spirits.

The cultural norms in these ancient nations included gross sexual immorality promoted even by state religions. These were the fertility gods (Baal and Ashteroth) whose temples were funded by temple prostitutes (male and female) and public taxes, along with parades displaying public and rampant homosexuality, transsexuality and public orgies (Ashteroth or Ishtar) . In addition, the norms included child sacrifice to Molech or his equivalent, witchcraft, sorcery, violence, political corruption, and more. By the 3rd and 4th centuries, the gospel had pushed these practices out of western civilizations and with them the ancient gods were driven out or greatly weakened as well.

Now fast forward. The thing that kept these demonic principalities at bay for 2000 years was Christianity – its value for life, its concern for the poor and the vulnerable, and its righteousness. I’m not saying that western Europe and America were fully holy nations, but there was enough of God’s standards woven into the culture that these demonic principalities had little comparative power over the nations.

However, in the 1960’s, the “sexual revolution” took place in the west and in America. Sex outside of marriage had once been shameful or even illegal, but in the last 40 years of the 20th century, it became not only tolerated but celebrated. At the same time, prayer was removed from public schools, the Ten Commandments were removed from the public square, marriage and sexuality was redefined, and 60 million children were sacrificed in the back rooms of abortion clinics so that men and women would not be inconvenienced by the burden of raising a child. In the last half of the 20th century and the first two decades of the 21st century, those things that were once called evil have now been declared good and those things that were considered good are denigrated as evil.

Cahn’s point is that when a culture has once been free from the demonic, but then pushes God out of society, the demons come back and bring many others with them that are even more wicked than before. The culture then becomes possessed and paganize once again. Demonic spirits begin to rule and direct the culture. In that context, Christianity can expect to be persecuted, witchcraft will flourish, sexuality and sexual morality will be turned on its head, and life will be devalued. The unborn, the elderly, and the infirm will be discarded as a drag on society as they were in pagan cultures before the gospel. Those things that replaced God will become idols with a demon behind each one and the nation will become a target of God’s judgment as was true in ancient Israel. In the 21st century, public idols may or may not be erected in the public square but science. government, sex, power, media, and pop culture will become cultural god’s that dictate truth rather than the revelation of God.

America has been called post-Christian. What it is becoming is simply a high-tech pagan nation that will be possessed or repossessed by demons. That is why we see things in our culture, in our schools, in politics, and in the media push an ungodly agenda and push it on children who cannot reason their way through the values being sold to them. That is why, even now we keep shaking our heads in unbelief at what we see and hear every day on the news and the accelerating demise of Christian culture in America..

Cahn makes a case that the dark trinity of Baal, Molech, and Ashtoreth (Ishtar) have returned to America and have reestablished their principalities in the heavenly realms. As Paul declared, “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 (Eph.6:12). Since this is true, America will not be saved by politicians, technology, or science because this is a spiritual battle. It must be won by the church through prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the re-evangelization of America. The gospel that drove these spirits from nations in the first place and is the only thing that can do so again.

I think Cahn’s book is a worthwhile read, even if you don’t agree with everything in it. We have seen the results of the demonization of a nation in Nazi Germany, North Korea, Iran, Stalinist Russia, The Cultural Revolution of China, and even in America. We cannot win this war for our nation and our children with the weapons of the world, but only with divine weapons (2 Cor. 10:4-5). First of all, we need to be convinced that we are in a war and, secondly, that it is a spiritual war which can only be won when we give no quarter to the enemy. We must speak out in the public square, push back against ungodly cultural trends, and share the gospel with a pagan nation again. We must pray and we must embrace the power of the Holy Spirit in our churches and the truth that there is no other name by which men can be saved but Jesus. We cannot outsource our prayer and evangelism to a few pastors but this must become the business of every member of the bride of Christ. Lord…make is all warriors in the kingdom of heaven.

Blessings in Him who has all authority in heaven and on earth.