I have been pondering something for quite some time that I would like to share with you. Again, I am sorry to inform you, this subject matter has no definitive answer, though pieces of knowledge and understanding of the topic can be gleaned from the Word of God. I have always liked that word gleaned, for it reminds me of God’s commandment that the grain that fell as the people were harvesting was to be left for the poor, (Lev. 19:9) so they could gather, glean enough to provide for themselves and those they loved. The Scriptures are like that, my friends, there is always a small kernel here and there that shows us just a small enough picture of a story that God has yet to tell us in full.
We are told in the Book of Revelation that the number of angels is ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands and thousands. (Rev.5:11) Now, these are the angels at the time of the writing that John saw in heaven, so we have no way of knowing how many God created in the beginning, but if you take that unknown number of angelic beings and take one third of them out of the equation, you would know how many demons there are. Now, without burdening you with a lot of math, at the time of this letter to you there are approximately seven billion, five hundred million people on this earth. Are therein is where part of the subject matter is revealed, is there a demon for each and every person?
We know that there are principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, (Eph. 6:12) we know that they try to hinder us and our prayers, (Dan. 10:13-21) they can inhabit and control the lost, (Mark 5:9) but never those with whom the Holy Spirt resides. (1st John 4:4) My most pertinent question here is, do they notice us, and if the disciples of Satan do notice the children of God, how are we seen to them.
It is my own personal belief that there is not an ally of our adversary following every single person around continuously from birth to death, for even though their one goal is to keep the eyes of the lost diverted from the truth of the message of the cross of Christ, it would not seem wise for a commander to use his forces in such a way, and trust the Word of God in this, Satan is wiser, more deceitful and powerful than we ever can begin to imagine. Look at Jude 1:9 to get just a small glimpse of the power he holds.
Does he perhaps have specific fallen angels for particular tasks, yes of course. Look again in the Book of Daniel and see the title ‘prince of the kingdom of Persia,’ the term principalities means, in one form of the word, generals in his unholy army, as it were, that have been placed in strategic locations around the planet, the rulers of darkness are the overseers in areas that are meant by their master to stay just that, dark. And us, my brothers and sisters in Christ, what are we to be? Light, of course, not the light, but reflectors of that light, reflectors of the love of God that flows thru us to a lost world.
So then, to the main question of the subject at hand, how do these fallen angels, these unrighteous, wicked beings who stand against all that God stands for, how do they know who the Christians are? After much discussion with my loving and very patient wife, I believe we can glean some answers from the Scriptures. The first and most obvious way of course is by our fruits for our Lord. (Matt. 7:20) Not only is this verse and others similar to it for our benefit, so that we can easily recognize our brothers and sisters, but they are quite clear to Satan also, for when he sees people doing and submitting to the work that God has called them to, he notices, and when he notices he does not just shrug his shoulders, he acts.
He can only do as much as our Lord allows him to do though, he must always ask first when he wants to attack a believer, for nothing happens to a Christian unless it goes through the Throne of God first. (Jude 1:24-25) Look at Job 1:8, “Hast thou considered my servant Job?” I have always thought of Satan’s answer as something like this, “Of course I have, you’ve got a hedge around him miles high and miles thick, how could I miss it?” Therein lies one of our answers, our Lord has placed a hedge, an invisible to this world protective shield around his children, a protective shelter that is only visible in the spiritual realm, and no matter how hard Satan and his armies try, they cannot penetrate this Holy shield, if they want in they must ask God for permission.
If you have been an obedient servant of Christ for any length of time, you have experienced this protection, for evil, dangerous life-threatening things have “missed you by an inch,” “That was a close call” has been a normal part of your speech followed immediately by “Praise God for His protection.” Think back on these instances and you will realize the truth of His divine providence and protection in your life since you came to Christ, since the moment you heeded His call. And that brings us to the most interesting point, a topic of conjecture to say the least, what about before you were saved?
Was our Lord protecting you before your conversion, did the spiritual forces of darkness know of this protection, is there a hedge around the chosen of God, those He has chosen from before the foundation of the world, from the moment of their birth. Ah, these are the deep things of God my friends, for in them we seek the knowledge of God. (Prov. 9:10) As my wonderful wife and I have discussed, all in conjecture and great humility, perhaps there is a glow, a faint light around those he has chosen from the moment they leave their mother’s womb, visible only in the spiritual realm. I am not speaking of an aura, though the term could be used, that the metaphysical quasi-religious groups use, nor of the glow that the transcendentalist or out-of-body spiritualist speak of, but what could best be termed as a “Holy light”, a visible only in the spiritual realm sign, so to speak, of them that are the called of our Lord. “This one is mine, hands off, unless I say so.”
The question has been on my mind for quite some time, for I have nearly died over a dozen times, and not all of them since I gave my life to Christ in my twenties. If we believe, and we should, that there is no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence in the life of the believer, that “All things work together for good…” (Rom. 8:28) then how am I, or you, to account for divine protection before our profession of faith. I can look back over some of these times that occurred in my life now and see them for what they were, spiritual attacks, there is no doubt. If not a noticeable sign, as it were, then what? What is it that kept the power of death away from this lost soul before he fell on his knees in repentance, if not the protection of the divine? How does our adversary know that this is one of God’s own children before the works of the Holy Spirit began to bring fruit into their lives?
I don’t know, there is no definitive answer in the Word of God.
But I do know this, I cannot thank Him enough, I can’t praise Him enough, I can’t show Him my love and gratitude enough for caring for me and protecting me before I even knew Him, much less now. But I’m going to keep trying to.
