On the World We Live In, and the Powers that Seek to Claim our Hearts:

DARK SPIRITUAL FORCES

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

I’ve been shaken this week. I have always treated the media with deep suspicion, and recognized its potential dangers. However, this week, I stumbled on something Bernie Sanders pointed out. I don’t follow Bernie Sanders, and I don’t know why this came into my feed. He wasn’t really pointed out anything new. But I have been paralyzed with horror ever since I read it. Something clicked in my brain. It really had nothing to do with Bernie or politics. It has to do with the sheer power that media has in our world. This comment merely stirred in me a realisation that shocked me. I have struggled to shake the despair that has encompassed me.

Bernie Sanders said:

“The wealthiest person in the world, Elon Musk, owns X. The second wealthiest person in the world, Larry Ellison, owns Paramount, including CBS, and will possibly now be taking over TikTok and CNN. Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post and Twitch. Mark Zuckerberg owns both Facebook and Instagram.
In fact, the top five richest men in the world are ALL media owners or executives.
When we talk about oligarchy in America, it’s not only income and wealth inequality. It’s control over the media and what the American people are able to see, hear and read.”


These are not just the wealthiest people in America. These are the wealthiest men in the entire world. Their power is unmatched. Their control. And they control much of the media that we daily consume.

Sit with that for a moment…

Do you understand why I was deeply impacted by this reality?

This shook me because I learned something else recently: In years past, the media sought to capitalize on sexuality. But more recently, media conglomerates are recognizing that rage sells better than sex. Rage bait taps into powerful emotions and drives media engagement more than lust. Rage has flooded our hearts and minds through media.

Gen Z is being radicalized into murderous rage and nihilism faster than generations before. Especially for those who spend most of their time immersed in social media and gaming. They are being radicalized by mere memes and short messages on X, rather than long conversations and grooming.

As I reflected on the power of these five wealthiest men in the world, I was aghast. Terrified. Sobered. This world has never had such a pervasive hold on it. These men have access to the hearts and minds of most people in the world, let alone North America. Such power was not possible in ages past.


UNMATCHED POWER

The horror is this: These men almost have power comparable to Satanic power. In its scope. In its influence.  

This seems to be the closest mere mortals have ever come to the kind of power Satan wields. Obviously, man will never achieve that, but I think it is vital to undertand the scope of the power those in control of media have. I keep hearing we live in unprecedented times. I now recognize the sheer danger of these unprecedented times. Our souls are being inundated by evil influence every time we look at a screen. And even if we avoid screens, our friends and family don’t, and the rage they have consumed can still consume us through their influence on us.

Indeed, I have recently been shocked and terror-stricken by the rage that has consumed many Christians. I didn’t understand it. We ought to know that rage is poison. We ought to be on guard against the lies of the evil one. We ought be known by our love for one another.

Ultimately, it is Satan’s power that has a hold on media, and those who own the media. We must remember that.

I felt deep despair this week. I felt a hopelessness for the entire world, not just my corner of the world. The globe faces a threat in the media we don’t fully comprehend. Not just by those five powerful men, but many others, in many countries. And It is changing us. We are allowing the media to shape our hearts towards hatred of perceived enemies, even when we are not being threatened. We are allowing fear to control our responses, and those responses are too often marked by lies, faithlessness, malice and all manner of unrighteousness.

This world lives with many threats, not just media. Our world could be destroyed in a few short hours due to nuclear war. I wonder if that would be better than being consumed by hatred and violence in our hearts. I fear the world we are becoming: one where we bite and devour one another on a massive scale.


RE-ORIENTATION TO GOD

As a Christian, I have always been taught this world will face many trials and tribulations. Eventually, this world faces destruction and judgment.

It is wrong for me to despair. I know what I must do:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10-11

and

“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 firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…” Ephesians 6:13-18

I pray for revival in God’s beautiful church. I pray for revival throughout the world. I pray that God’s power will heal us from the wicked influences that have preyed on our souls. I pray that we will repent from the hate we might be inclined towards. I pray we will hunger for peace more than wrath. I pray that we will stand firm, and be strong in the Lord. For Jesus Christ already has victory over sin and death! We might be living in times of plague, where death in the form of malicious hatred threatens to consume us. But death has already lost! Jesus has already born the wrath of God against sin for us. Jesus has died a cursed death. Jesus has risen from the grave, and with him, we are also raised if we confess our sins and believe on him. This reality is far more powerful than anything the spiritual forces of evil in this dark world can threaten us with. With our souls made clean, and our sins forgiven, we are made whole in Christ. He has already won!

May we gaze upon his holy face, and hope in him. I must not despair. There is already victory over death.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven..” Colossians 1:15-23

May Christ be our glory and delight, though we travel through dark times. May we be found to be continuing in the faith, being stable, and pressing into the gospel more than ever before.
Maranatha.