Nefarious: Remove The Blindfold

Introduction

Hello everyone!

I hope most of you were able to see the movie “Nefarious” with us this last Sunday night.

Last October we talked about demons.

What they are.

What they can do.

And what they cant do.

And this year we are going to talk about demons again.

However, this time we will discuss how they operate in our world.

What demonic activity really looks like.

I believe the movie “Nefarious” gives a pretty good picture of that reality.

Now, we need to remember that this is just a movie.

There are things that I would say are pretty accurate.

But there are also a few creative liberties that aren't entirely accurate.

I want us to start by addressing the things that aren't accurate.

Fact From Fiction

1. A war in the Heavens before the creation of humans.

This is a common belief amongst Christians.

The problem is that its just simply not found anywhere in scripture.

I’m not saying that its impossible for a pre-human divine war to have occured.

I'm just saying that the Bible never indicates that one happened.

What the Bible does talk about, are 3 separate events in which heavenly beings rebelled against YHWH.

The first of these you will find in Genesis 3 where the serpent deceives Eve in the garden of Eden.

This event seems to be the introduction of willful sin into creation.

The next one we read about in Genesis 6 where we are told that the “sons of God” came to earth and bred with human women creating the “nephilim”.

The Biblical authors viewed this as an act of Rebellion against YHWH, and in the eventual conquest of Caanan we see that the Israelite’s were determined to exterminate all of the “Giants” who are descended from the nephilim.

And finally, we have the Genesis 11 incident, where humans decided that they wanted to place themselves as rulers apart from Gods authority, by building a tower to the heavens.

The intention in doing this was to forcefully take our own seat in the heavenly courts, even though God had removed us from that position back in the garden.

Because of that event, God divorces humanity taking Abram as his portion and assigning everyone else to lessor created gods who sat in YHWH’s council.

We learn later in Psalm 82 that many of these gods decided to rule according to their own will, and forsake the commands of YHWH, so God pronounces judgement on them stating that these gods will die like men for their rebellion.

The Bible indicates that it is these three rebellions that sparked the war that occurs both in the heavens and on earth now.

And it is these beings that we refer to as demons, with their leader being that original rebel from the garden, the devil.

2. Demons do not need permission to possess a non-believer.

Near the beginning of the movie, the demon asks Dr. Martin for permission to possess him.

There is nothing in scripture that indicates that a demon needs permission to possess a non-believer.

As a matter of fact, in Matthew 12:28 Jesus tells us:

The NET Bible (Second Edition) Chapter 12

28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.

29 How else can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house.

30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Anyone who is not sided with Christ is actively against him.

Demons don't need permission.

If they want to possess someone, they just do it.

The only question is whether they want to do it or not for any given person or reason.

There is also a flip-side to this though.

If you are a follower of Christ, a demon cannot possess you.

Christ has given us the Holy Spirit, God, who has taken residence within us.

No demon is strong enough to overpower their creator.

As believers, you can be oppressed by a demon.

Even be convinced that you are possessed by a demon.

But a demon cannot take possession of your body if you follow Christ.

3. Demons are not omniscient or omnipresent.

In the scene where Dr. Martins girlfriend is getting an abortion, the demon seems to know exactly what is happening there at the clinic.

As if he were present there, and in the body of Edward Brady at the same time.

There is nothing in scripture which indicates that these lessor divine beings are capable of doing that.

The only spiritual being that possesses the traits of omniscience, and omnipresence is YHWH, the uncreated Most High.

Demons know a lot of things, they have been around for longer than any of us, but they don't know everything.

And even though they are spirits, they cannot be everywhere all at once. We see this in the book of Daniel, where the angel is delayed in his arrival because of the prince of Persia, and will leave to go fight against that prince.

The demon actually clarifies this point later in the movie, but its easy to miss, and I wanted to make sure you understood it.

4. If you call out to Christ, demons cannot overcome His power.

In the movie we get a few chances to hear from Edward Brady, the man who is possessed.

In these instances Brady is hurting, he is desperate for freedom.

He wants the demon gone.

The movie never makes it clear as to whether or not Brady knows the gospel message.

But I do want to make something clear.

If a non-believer becomes possessed, but they know the gospel message and cry out for Christ to save them, regardless of if they can use their mouth or not, Christ will save them.

Demons have no power over Yeshua, the God-Man.

A priest or pastor isn't needed to preform an exorcism if someone converts.

They are only needed for people who do not know the message of Christ.

God will protect His flock, and no power on earth or in the heavens can deny Him His prize.

“Your Side isn't Doing to Well...”

In the movie, the Dr. Martin tells the demon, “If you are a demon, then your side isn't doing to well.”

The demon responds to this statement with a series of things.

He says that the average high school student reads at a 6th grade level.

That professional athletes cry out “racism” while wearing thousand dollar sneakers made by slave labor.

That there are 40 million slaves in the world today, and half of them are sex slaves.

That people sacrifice their unborn children on the alter of self preservation.

That evil is everywhere and nobody even cares.

This October, our focus will be on demonic activity in the real world.

When we think of demons, we usually consign it to those things that go bump in the night.

Doors opening and closing on their own.

Disembodied voices in abandoned buildings.

Satanic cults and their rituals.

Possession.

And while there is a demonic reality to those things, it is not confined to those things.

The war occuring in the heavens and on Earth is far larger in scale.

It isn't hidden away in “haunted” buildings, or only done in the dark quiet of the night.

It is fought openly and right in front of you.

This isn't a cold war, its a brash, bloody and evident war.

In Ephesians 6:12 we are told:

The NET Bible (Second Edition) Chapter 6

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.

13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.

If we are at war with the forces of darkness, we cannot wear a blindfold during the fight.

We need to open our eyes to the war around us.

Here in the western world, the high ranking demons aren't too concerned with possession and scaring people out of abandoned buildings.

No.

Their focus is on causing as much pain and destruction as possible.

And they want to do that as quietly as they can.

So that you never figure it out.

They want us to reject the idea of sin completely!

Want you to believe that morality is subjective.

They want, “do what thou wilt” to be the entirety of the law.

So that through our own wants and wishes, a path of pain and destruction beyond our comprehension can be paved.

For both others, and ourselves.

The movie shows how much the demon wants Edward Brady to suffer.

It makes Brady do things that he doesn't want to do.

Then laughs as Brady suffers the consequences.

He constantly harms Brady's body.

He picks the electric chair for his method of execution.

He denies Brady his last meal, the one thing Brady had left to look forward to.

They want all of us to suffer just like that.

Because they hate the One Who Loves us.

This month I want to help you remove the blindfold and see the reality of demonic activity in the world around you.

We will cover 3 things the movie brings up.

Abortion.

Ignorance.

And slavery.

By the end, I hope you will see exactly how clever and despicable the enemy really is.

I hope that you will no longer be blind to the spiritual war around us.

And finally, I hope that you will be encouraged to take a stand and fight against this enemy we face.

We will start with abortion next week.