I would call it a spirit of antagonism, but not in the sense that it would be a name of a devil, one of the fallen angels. There does seem to be an attitude of not quite aggression, at least not overtly in a physical manner yet, but one that could best be described as a disquieted, anxious nature among many people. This is not a feeling I have, I do not regularly trust my feelings, for the Scriptures are true. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9) But it is more of an observation, and I question its origins.
Some have laid claim that it is associated with the supposed virus, the lockdowns, mandates and all of the associated items that have been placed upon us for almost two years now, and in part, that may be true. People have a tendency to get “edgy” in times such as this, they begin to feel the pressure of the loss of their personal freedoms. But everything that happens in the world of man is orchestrated by the Almighty for His glory, and so I put forth a presupposition here, from the Book of 1 Samuel, “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.” (16:14)
Now, first off, we must recognize and accept that all of the fallen angels are still accountable to the Lord, and if you like, you may use Matthew 8:29 as a reference here for the fact Jesus Christ is God. “And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” Only God can do that. The evil spirit that was sent to King Saul caused him to become anxious, nervous and antagonistic, this spirit had, and still has we can presume, the ability to alter the peace that a man feels within himself. So the question must be asked, is this what is, at least in part, happening today?
None of us know whether there is a devil that is assigned to antagonize people, one who can cause sorrow, anger, or any other emotion, but I do know from the accounts in the Scriptures what this spirit was able to do to Saul, and I see what is happening across the planet right now, and the two show signs of similarity. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7) A sound mind rests on the promises of the Most High, the only fear we know is the fear of our flesh, but those who do not serve Jesus Christ are not so, they are easily deceived, easily led astray, easily manipulated.
For quite some time I have believed that the evil in the world was not growing exponentially, but was, because of social media and the availability of millions upon millions of videos and other feeds, simply exposing it more, but I am no longer quite sure of that assumption. There is a power struggle going on in high places, there are protests which are becoming more and more violent, the lies that are being exposed are beginning to be hindered by almost all those social media and news outlets. Scared people will go in one of two directions, total submission to authority, those that are causing the fear, or rebellion, and that rebellion always historically has ended with the death of many.
If indeed my perception of these days is correct, then it is demonic interference in the world of man on a level never witnessed before, and it can only mean one thing, the protecting hand of the Almighty by the power of His Holy Spirit is being removed. And, if true, what those who came before us, those who served the Lord with all their being used to say applies to us “God help us all.” “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28)
