Oh Lord, please break the hold that Satan and his powers of darkness have on the world. Last week we wrote about how unchecked emotions or the old sin nature was leading the world into utter chaos. Today, we will write about how Satan and the powers of darkness are tightening their grip on humanity leading them to think and do the unconscionable. This hold on humanity will cause untreatable suffering, illnesses, and even death. This hold on humanity will cause many to do and say what they normally wouldn’t. Many are being pushed beyond their breaking point, either going stark raving mad, on the verge of insanity or committing suicide. Everyone will be affected to some degree even if they claim Jesus Christ as their Savior. These will be dark days indeed when everything seems to be falling apart. We have already seen this in today’s world where someone will ruthlessly slash young people in their sleep for no reason and where another will buy a gun, then unmercifully kill his workmates in cold blood. There is not a day that goes by where we don’t hear about how people act as if they are being controlled by the master of evil and the powers of darkness.

Our job today is to learn how to recognize the evil powers of darkness so that we can effectively stand against them with God’s truth. There are different levels of difficulty in recognizing the evil presence, so we will start with the easiest first. Although it’s the easiest to recognize, it will be among the most difficult, especially among fallen humanity who is unfamiliar with God’s righteous truth. The powers of darkness can lead you to unrighteous thoughts and vain imaginations. So, if we are unfamiliar with the righteousness in God’s Word, then it would be easy for the powers of darkness to freely implant their thoughts causing us to eventually commit the unrighteous act. This does not negate our responsibility just because the thought was implanted by the enemy. So, we must do two things. First, we must learn the righteous behavior required for every follower of Jesus Christ. We must learn the difference between right and wrong. We must learn the truth, which is not taught at home and in the public schoolroom. The second thing is to cast the evil thoughts and vain imaginations out of our minds immediately. Then we must substitute those thoughts with righteous and holy thoughts. If we don’t, then we will join the world in every manner of wickedness.

The powers of darkness tighten their control on humanity by leading them to trust in their own ability to overcome every obstacle from increasing lawlessness to global warming. This is most difficult to recognize but easy to overcome if we truly trust in God alone. To trust in God will put His truth into our lives, using it to grow us from one degree of glory to another. Our Spiritual growth in Christ will set us free from our bondage to Satan. We can tell Satan to be gone and we can cast out his evil thoughts but until we put God’s truth into our lives then Satan will return. He will return again and again until we are pulled back into bondage and back into a life of great pain and wicked rage. Satan will not stop until our minds are clouded and on the verge of insanity or total madness. That’s exactly what he does. Look around and you can see how he is winning the war. Look around and you can see how the Church is growing more lukewarm every day by not trusting in His truth alone. Let me ask you a question, “are you growing more like Christ every day or are you growing more like the world filled with every manner of evil? “If you are NOT growing in Christ daily, then you are becoming more like the world that’s in bondage to the enemy. Only the truth will set you free.

Most people living in the West proclaim loudly that they are free. There is nothing further from the truth. Satan and the powers of darkness want you to believe this lie so that you will not seek to be free. They want to keep you away from the truth so that you will remain in bondage to the powers of darkness. Some seek their own truth by searching the internet believing that they have the power of discernment. Others seek the truth by weighing what everyone says on social media, believing that they too have the power of discernment. Others listen to one preacher after another on YouTube believing that they too can discern the truth and discard the lies. Then, finally, you have those who listen to the news media and all the politicians thinking that they too can discern the truth and jettison the outrageous lies. I am here to tell you that there is only one place to receive the truth and set you free from your bondage, and that is from Jesus Christ, who is the Spirit of truth. The more we immerse ourselves in God’s truth the more we will have true discernment. Only true discernment will expose all the lies and the powers of darkness attempting to lead you further into darkness.

As fallen humanity seeks to discover his own truth, the deeper he will go into bondage. His mind will be clouded, and his eyes will grow dimmer creating even greater confusion. Medication will not help. Higher learning will not help. Humanity will begin to slip deeper and deeper into the grips of Satan causing untold suffering. So, we must seek God’s truth to deliver us from our bondage to Satan and the powers of darkness. The truth comes directly from God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. This truth was also written down in the original text free from all textual errors. It was given to the prophets, apostles, and men called by God to write down God’s words through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is the same Spirit that will open the eyes of every believer who prayerfully reads the Holy Scriptures. This is the only truth that will set you free from the powers of darkness. No matter how old the earth becomes the truth will remain the same. Science, technology, and artificial intelligence will not change this truth. Higher learning, philosophy, and psychology will not change this truth. The truth from God remains the same throughout all eternity. The truth from God is the only truth that will set you free. Remember the words of Jesus, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

Raging madness and threatening behavior are already spreading around the globe affecting nearly every person. They cannot explain it. They cannot cure it. They cannot stop it on their own. All of their technology and all of science cannot stop it.  In the end, one will arise making great promises to bring peace and prosperity to a beleaguered world. It will make no difference that his ways are lawless. It will make no difference because the world is suffering greatly. They will be looking for a savior to deliver them from their crumbling world on the verge of collapse. They will be willing to do anything to stop the mental anguish and the physical pain. They will even be willing to turn from their God, whom most will begin to blame for their troubles. Satan who has caused most of the world’s sufferings will now turn the tables casting all the blame on God. Remember, when Antichrist comes, he will be Satan’s representative on earth. His goal has not changed since the beginning. His ultimate goal is the destruction of humanity through his bald-faced lies, temptations, and leading you away from trusting in God exclusively. Please turn back to God before it’s too late by following Christ and His truth alone to deliver you from your captivity to Satan and his diabolical control. A time is coming when it will be nearly impossible to escape as Satan tightens his global control.