REMEDY TO EVIL

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T was the scene of the second-worst school shooting in United States history. Children ages 5 to 10 spilled onto the parking lot of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, as frightened parents waited for word on their loved ones. Inside, the carnage was horrifying. Among the dead were 20 children (12 girls and eight boys), six adult staff members, and 20-year-old Adam Lanza. Lanza had first killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, at their nearby home, then drove to the school and shot the students and employees before killing himself.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said,

“Evil visited this community today. We are all in this together.”

In the aftermath of this tragedy, we have heard much about restricting certain firearms, aggressively responding to individuals plagued with mental illness, and helping their caretakers. These discussions are right and necessary. However, we also need to discuss the reality of evil, and what seems to be a targeted assault on the least and most vulnerable among us—our children.

In Revelation 12, we read of a great sign in heaven: a woman clothed with
the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She is pregnant and about to give birth. In front of her is a dragon with seven heads and 10 horns, poised to devour the child that is to be born. It is a picture with historic and prophetic significance. But it also stands as a stark reminder of how cruel and determined Satan is to rob us of our seed.

In the days of Moses, Pharaoh was obsessed with destroying male babies born to Hebrew women in Egypt. In the New Testament, shortly after the birth of Jesus, King Herod ordered the murder of all male babies 2 years of age and under in Bethlehem.

The bottom line is,

there is a real devil and real demons. The true culprit behind this culture of death is the one whom Jesus described as a “murderer” (John 8:44)—the one who comes “to kill, and to destroy” (10:10). Ephesians 2:2 calls him “the prince of the power of the air.”

It is out of a heart under satanic control that evil thoughts and murder originate (Matt. 15:19). We need better legislation, enforcement of existing laws, and effective psychiatric care. But more than this, we need deliverance that comes only through the blood of Jesus Christ.

When Pharaoh was instituting infanticide, God raised up a fearless woman named Jochebed and allowed her to give birth to Moses the deliverer.
When Herod tried to kill Jesus in Bethlehem, God gave Joseph a dream and directed him to flee to Egypt with Jesus and Mary.

In Revelation, God rescued the baby from the dragon and brought him to His throne.
This same God cares for you and your children. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance.