Demons and World
Political Leadership
The Bible quite clearly says demons
influence the political affairs of the world, and this
is where many religious people get off the train. They
acknowledge the existence of “a higher power” or something
along those lines, but they would never admit to the
ethereal world of evil spirits. Too sophisticated,
you see, for that. They claim all this talk about demons
is just so much religious hokey taught by the crazies
and believed by the ignorant because, they say, such
beings do not even exist.
Without question I believe demons not
only exist, but they are deeply involved in the affairs
of world politics, especially as the close of this dispensation
gets ever so near. The people they influence are not
mere sociopaths who might be blandly described as dysfunctional,
a term in wide use today to describe those whose behavior
is outside what most would call normal. The truth of
the matter is they are under the strong influence of
a spiritual entity whose objective is to take dominion
of this world at any and all costs. And, since God
has other plans, Satan is in direct opposition to Him,
His word and His people. That is not to say all evil
political dictators are possessed by satanic spirits
in the common use of the term, but it is to say all
men everywhere who are not in Christ are, indeed, influenced
by Satan. It cannot be any other way. A person cannot
be somewhere in the middle in the same way a woman cannot
be half pregnant — either she is or is not.
It is important at this point to remember
that a political leader might be a “good” person, but
that does not in any way equate to that person being
in Christ. Hell will be full of good people; the problem
for them will not be how they treated people, or their
honesty, or hard work or anything else we might find
admirable in their character. Their problem will be
they are sinners, guilty of breaking God’s perfect Law
and who had never come under the blood of Jesus Christ
for pardon. So much for the good-ole-boy syndrome being
any kind of defense in God’s court.
Now, back to the issue at hand. Does
Satan actually have an interest in politics, and does
he actually hold sway over some political leaders?
Yes, he does, and this will be addressed shortly. First,
though, think about some of the men who have ruled nations
in the past. Is there anything about them that might
offer a clue as to who was influencing them?
It does not take much research to find
examples of wicked dictators whose actions were so sub-human
most people would readily admit there was something
inexpressibly evil about their personalities. Consider
Idi Amin, for example. As dictator of Uganda, he called
himself, “His Excellency, President for Life, Field
Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC,
Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the
Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in
General and Uganda in Particular.” He died in 2003,
but not before murdering the Anglican archbishop, Uganda’s
chief justice and the head of the Bank of Uganda along
with 300,000 other Ugandans while in power in the ’70s.
And, to top it off he was also believed to be a cannibal.
Now, who would question the source of the greatest influence
in his miserable life?
Add to the list such notables as Joseph
Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Kim Il Sung, Mao Zedong, and others
whose personal and political lives were so sordid and
utterly repugnant that even the most doubtful will admit
the presence of some totally depraved influence. When
the political activities of such men are held up for
an unbiased view it becomes unmistakably clear their
evil policies and alliances were based on a virulent
anti-God worldview. A few modern examples include the
late Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat. And, among those
still wasting oxygen are Kim Jung Il who is literally
starving the people of North Korea, and Omar Al-Bashir
of Sudan who has been charged with war crimes, genocide
and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Well, what about some of the leadership
in the Western World? Not too hard to answer that one
either, for any number of western leaders, past and
present, might have looked and sounded good on camera
to the masses, but whose appearance simply masked a
heart darkened by evil. To put it more succinctly,
must we honestly wonder about who is influencing a political
leader when he endorses the wholesale murder of babies,
sexual perversion and racial hatred? Add to that his
haughty attitude toward the Jews and you have a leader
whose agenda was orchestrated in hell.
But, what about the Bible? We can
read any number of instances of demonic influence recorded
in the Bible, and we must accept these as facts. One
of the reasons western Christians are sometimes skeptical
about these things is we see little to no high profile
demonic activity in our daily lives. I suppose that
point could be argued when we consider how we invite
the filth and blasphemy of the world of entertainment
into our homes, but that discussion is for another time.
However, if we were to spend any amount of time in some
areas of Africa and Asia we might change our minds.
Christians who live there see demonic influence daily.
Dr. Stephen Olford used to relate stories to us of his
time in Africa with his father who was a missionary
there many decades ago. Amazing just cannot accurately
describe such things.
OK, but is there a Bible-endorsed association
between evil world political leaders and demonic influence?
Yes. Daniel knew all about this phenomena 2500 years
ago (Daniel 10). God had sent an angel to Daniel with
a message, but the angel was intercepted and delayed
for three weeks by an evil spirit referred to as “the
prince of the kingdom of Persia”. Daniel’s prayer for
his people was challenged by demonic spirits who are
among those listed by hierarchy in Ephesians 6:12 and
Colossians 1:16. The intercepting angel was a satanic
spirit whose job it was to influence Cyrus in such a
way as to not allow the return of the Jews to their
homeland, Israel. Michael, the only angel called an
Archangel, was sent by God to set the battle straight
and to foil Satan’s attempt at stopping the repatriation
of the Jews. (Does this not ring a bell regarding what
is going on in the Middle East this very hour?)
We are living in what God calls the
Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24). And, presently
Satan is heavily involved in influencing world governments
in his effort to assume ultimate and total authority
on this earth. Now is the probably the best time for
us to be reminded of something so necessary to the clear
understanding of prophecy. Something, sadly, that is
hardly ever addressed in pulpits.
Though he tried his best, Satan failed
(Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28) and will never have heaven.
He will never be God. He will never usurp God’s throne
and His omnipotent authority. So, to what must he default?
The earth. He has lowered his goal from the celestial
to the terrestrial. He has staked his claim to this
world system and has declared total war against God
and His Christ. Why did he try to destroy the infant
Jesus? Why did he try to cause Him to sin in the desert?
Why did he enter Judas to have Him betrayed? Why did
he influence Pilate to have Him crucified though Pilate
knew without question He was innocent? Why did he influence
His enemies to have His tomb not only officially sealed
by the Roman government, but guarded by soldiers whose
lives would be given to keep Him in it?
The answer to those questions is very
simple. If Jesus could have been removed from the battle
for world sovereignty it would have all defaulted to
Satan. Kill Him, cause Him to sin thus disqualifying
Him, prevent His resurrection thus making Him no more
than mere man, etc.; whatever form it took did not matter.
The objective was to make Him unable to receive this
world system as His own. And the seventh angel sounded;
and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, "The
kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord,
and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."
(Revelation 11:15).
That very verse, maybe more than most
others, evokes curses from the heart of the evil one
because it is the announcement of the triumphant Christ.
Satan’s defeat was sealed at the cross and Jesus’ attending
resurrection, but he will never concede. No, not ever!
He, even this very moment, has pulled out all stops
and has released his minions in an all-out war for this
planet. They hover incessantly, so to speak, in that
unseen dimension in direct proximity to the minds of
world leaders. They orchestrate by mental suggestion
and influence with anti-God ideology. At times it is
with subtlety and at other times it is overtly, but
never are they merely disinterested spectators of the
world’s great political dramas.
Though Satan has always failed in his
attempt at earth’s conquest, yet he will continue to
try until the final insurrection (Revelation 20:10).
And part of that effort includes playing what is now
his strongest hand — a strong alliance with this Gentile
world system established through the use of demonic
influences.
It must be understood that Satan’s
work to influence world leaders is not a very difficult
thing to do at all. Mostly, they are indebted to him
with full allegiance though they might deny it all the
days of their lives. The communist leadership in China
and North Korea would deny it, for they are atheists
and do not believe in Satan and demons. He laughs at
their unbelief because it is a non-issue with him.
The Islamic leadership of Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc.,
would vehemently deny it because they surrender their
allegiance to what they believe is a god, Allah, and
his prophet Mohammed. Again, Satan laughs, for that
does not matter either. The desired result is his sovereignty
and that is all that matters. And in the end, after
he would have used men and institutions, he would destroy
every one of them. And, by the way, that especially
includes every vestige of human religion, even that
controlled by his false prophet (Revelation 17:16).
Take a moment and consider our planet’s
leadership. What monarch, president or prime minister
has a heart for the lordship of Jesus Christ personally
and politically? Perhaps a more penetrating question
would be, which world leader of any significance fully
endorses the biblically-revealed agenda of Almighty
God? And maybe the most penetrating question would
be, who among them really believes what that same Bible
says about God’s agenda? The point is this: in the
end it is absolutely impossible for them to sanction
and support something they do not believed in.
So, take heart. Though Satan thinks
he is running up the score as he influences the affairs
of world governments our Great God laughs from His Throne
on High (Psalm 2). And don’t worry about the American
political scene. Though Obama and Congress believe
they have the right answers, in a short time national
and international events will show they don’t even have
the right questions.
What happened in Daniel’s day was not
an anomaly. Adam was the first world leader, and remember
what happened in his own back yard. From that day on
Satan has been deeply involved with politics, and he
will never lay down this most important and influential
weapon.
I find many Christians are not willing
to accept the supernatural influence of Satan in world
leadership. That is sad, for without the information
God gave us in Daniel we are at a loss to understand
what is really happening when we watch the nightly news.
Outside of what God has said of these matters, pray
tell what do we hear and see that we can believe? Nothing.
Absolutely nothing. DLM
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