In my last blog, I shared that I was reading Jonathan Cahn’s latest book, The Return of the Gods. Very simply, his point is that when a person or culture has been demonized and then set free and the void is not filled by the presence of God, that spirit will return and bring other more wicked spirits with him. Ancient western cultures were filled with false gods which, according to scripture, represented actual demons until the dawn of the gospel changed that. As the gospel was preached and gained traction in the 3rd and 4th centuries, idol worship, human sacrifice, widespread sexual immorality of all kinds, and the great temples to those false Gods were destroyed and removed from western culture for nearly 2000 years.

However, beginning in the second half of the 20th century, these demonic principalities began to push their way back into western cultures through influential individuals and began to systematically remove God from our public schools, universities, stadiums, court rooms, and public morals. In the last seventy five years, we have redefined marriage and gender. We have aborted over 60 million children in America alone. We have declared what once was evil to be good and what once was was good to be evil. Truth has become a subjective concept rather than an objective reality and a clear war on Christianity has been launched by many segments of our society. All these changes were made in the name of social tolerance, but now anyone who does not agree with the “new morality” will no longer be tolerated.

In essence, Cahn argues that as we have rejected God in our culture, the old demonic principalities or “gods” of western cultures have once again established themselves and America has not become post-Christian as much as neo-pagan. If this continues, we can expect very dark days for those who follow Jesus or who hold to any traditional values. The question becomes, “What can we do and is it too late to do anything.?”

There are a couple of things that give us hope. First of all, the reversal by the Supreme Court of Roe vs. Wade exposed a subtle shift in the tide. This reversal did not make abortion illegal but left it up to states to determine what should be done about it. That is, at least, a step in the right direction. Another thing that gives me hope is that throughout the Old Testament history of Israel, wicked kings ruled generation after generation, but out of nowhere, God would raise up a righteous king who would rid the land of idolatry once again for a generation. Asa ruled over Judah for 41 years and brought revival (1 Kings 15). His son Jehoshaphat continued the revival for twenty five years. In 2 Kings 12, Joash became king and “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” for forty one years. Along the way, kings like Hezekiah and Josiah would spring up out of a culture of wickedness and lead the nation back to seasons of righteousness and blessing. In the darkest of hours, God would raise uo a young king whose father had been wicked and light would shine in Israel once again. God did this as an act of mercy towards a nation he stilled loved and because of his promises to the patriarchs and his servant David. I believe God still loves America.

Historically, God intervened from time to time to raise up a righteous generation out of the ashes of wickedness. He might do the same for us. But for this to happen, we cannot be passive or depend on others to pray for us. We must be engaged in the spiritual battle as the church, the called out, and as individual followers of Jesus. Chan rightly points our that the same power that drove the gods from the ancient world still sits on the throne in heaven. His name is Jesus. He still has all authority in heaven and on earth. But like many things, he waits for us to join him in the battle. Gd could have drive the tribes out of Canaan before Israel even arrived on the scene. Instead, he ordained that they had to engage in the battle. He would with them, but they had to bear armor. The question becomes, how badly do we want righteousness restored to America and to our personal lives? How badly do we want America to continue as a nation? What future do we want for our children and grandchildren? A casual or ocassional commitment to the cause will not do.

This must begin with our own commitment to Jesus. Cahn writes, ” How then is one to live in the days when civilization around us has become a house of spirits? How can one stand against the darkness of the house, resist its intimidations, refuse its temptations, defy its powers? How can one stand against the gods? One cannot stand against the gods by serving them at the same time…And if we serve any of the gods we cannot stand against them. We must renounce any and all gods and any hold they have on our lives…We must take no part in their ways, have no communion with their spirits, leave no gap for their entrance, and pay no heed to their commandments.”

These are the days when we must all be Daniels, Shadrachs, Meshachs, and Abednegos. We must live in the culture but no be part of the culture and be willing to risk everything to be faithful to the true and living God. We cannot entrust out children to this culture for their education and moral upbringing because it will, in most cases, being anti-Christian and anti-biblical. We can no longer let our children indulge in the cultural media of America and hope it has no or little effect on them We can no longer be silent. Even Disney is pushing the culture of demons on our children.

Edmond Burke is often attributed with the words, ” All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Those are probably not his exact words but the sentiment is self-evident. If we withdraw from the battle, if we sit quietly at home, if we silo in our small groups, if we fail to speak up or vote, then evil will triumph. It is never too late with God, but he waits on us. Perhaps, in our 2023 resolutions this year, we should resolve to engage in the battle…not with violence or name calling, but with love, prayer, the word of God, courage, and personal holiness. This could be a great year for America or it can be one of her last. The fate of America is ultimately not up to Congress or the White House or the Supreme court, but up to the church and each of us who follow Jesus as our King. We live in such a time as this and God has given our generation stewardship of a nation. What will we do with it?