Satanic Intervention - Luke 22:3

   
Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
- Luke 22:3

    There are a plethora of “reality shows” on cable networks purporting to feature ghost hunters and paranormal (haunting) investigators. Just let the irony of that statement sink in for a moment. Now imagine how taken aback I was when a close Christian friend approached me and asked if I believed that evil spirits could actually haunt, even hurt someone. I took a moment to choose my words carefully. Then I suggested we go to Scripture to see what God’s word has to say about such things.
    We looked at Saul’s life, from a “spirit” which troubled him (1Samuel 16:14) to his experience with the Witch of Endor, summoning the ghost of Samuel. (1Samuel 28: 11-15) We looked at Satan’s particularly virulent attacks upon Job. (Job 1:12) Then we looked at the son of perdition, Judas Iscariot. So can Satan intervene in the lives of human beings? According to holy Scripture?  Yes!
    Putting aside the utter nonsense of these cable programs we can safely assume that, given extreme circumstances, evil can and often does visit pain and suffering upon many of us. I, for one, do not believe that I have ever had a paranormal experience, nor do I personally know anyone who can, with unquestioning certainty, offer evidence that they have had such experiences either. That being said I still would never rule the possibility out.
    “The Exorcist,” one of the most terrifying novels of all time certainly haunted the imagination of viewers in the early 1970's. Author, William Peter Blatty, did his homework, researching scholarly works such as “Possession and Exorcism,” by Traugott K. Oesterreich, originally published in 1921. Obviously, Blatty sensationalized his fictional case for intense melodramatic effect, and quite successfully. But Scripture tells us of Christ’s healing of the Gadarenes demoniac, a case of demonic possession worthy of Blatty’s narrative. “And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,  who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,  because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.” - Mark 5:2-5.
    There are four things we can know for certain regarding the encounters of God’s elect with such paranormal entities:
1) Satan is ever present - “And the Lord said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.’” - Job 1:7.
2) We must put all our faith in God - “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” - James 4:7.
3) Satanic intervention is tied directly to the proximity of the devil’s presence in our lives - “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8
4) God has given us a way to battle the manner and the effect of satanic intervention - “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” - Ephesians 6:11-13.
    We must always remember the words of our Lord, Jesus Christ praying to His heavenly Father - “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” - John 17:12.  Our election by God before the foundation of the world and our perseverance in faith is our guarantee, our very assurance, that Christ will intercede for us and overcome satanic intervention regardless of the Accuser’s plans to the contrary. But we must remain vigilant and never give Satan or his minions opportunity.