Sunday was Pentecost. Christians in liturgical churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, among others) celebrate it.

Pentecost falls the 50th day after Easter. The Jews had celebrated the Festival of Weeks on the 50th day after the Sabbath of Passover. Why? For many years, to thank God for the harvest. Later Shauvot came to commemorate the covenant He made with humanity after the Flood.

For Christians, it was when God sent the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and 120 other believers (Acts 2). Jesus had promised this, before His crucifixion and resurrection (John 15:26–16:16).

Unpacking Pentecost

There is a lot to unpack with Pentecost. Starting with the Third Person of the Trinity descending upon each person there, enabling them to speak and understand various foreign languages. Having labored for 63 weeks studying Arabic at Defense Language Institute, I’m envious. Instant linguistic abilities! And Arabic was one of the tongues conferred.

Others would have included the usual suspects: Greek and Latin. Also Aramaic, Parthian (an ancient Persian language), Coptic (spoken in Egypt) and Punic (prevalent in North Africa). Probably Hebrew, too, for any foreign Jews who didn’t know it well.

But this divine Rosetta Stone wasn’t just utilitarian. Yes, it enabled the spread of the Gospel. More importantly, however, Pentecost was “a divine reversal … of the events at the Tower of Babel” according to the Orthodox Study Bible.

It’s also a fulfillment of the eschatological words of the prophet Joel. “In the last days” people will experience prophecy, visions and dreams. These will be followed by “blood, fire and billows of smoke.” The sun will be darkened and the moon become blood. Then — the Second Coming. Thank God that for Him a day is like a thousand years. Which gives the maximum amount of time for sinful humans to repent before it’s too late.

Christ Predicted It

Christ’s aforementioned preview, and explanation, of Pentecost is crucial here. The Holy Spirit “will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.”

Christ also declares that “the ruler of this world now stands condemned.” Who is that? Satan. God’s enemy. St. Paul calls him “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2).

Christ vs. the “Ruler of this World”

Jesus dealt with evil spirits a number of times during his earthly ministry. And if you think that the devil and his minions took a vacation after Christ’s resurrection — think again. Yes, the demons were defeated, but even in retreat they lay waste to as many humans as possible.

The Catholic Church, traditionally the most-informed about (and potent against) this problem, has reported a great increase in demonic activity in recent years. (And not just church sources acknowledge this.) Even some ministers in my own staid denomination admit as much. The literature, and data, on this horrible topic is there for anyone to investigate.

What’s the Nature of the Enemy’s Game?

But is the ruler of this world attempting to orchestrate the downfall, not just of individuals, but of our society writ large? A Protestant author was pilloried for suggesting as much, a few years ago. Yet last year Catholic prelates in Portland and San Francisco attempted to drive out demons of protest. Last summer both BLM and Antifa goons attacked churches. And here in spring 2021 history is repeating itself. It seems the global persecution of Christians is now reaching America, the country with the most Christians on earth.

The Left’s Attacks on Christians

The group abroad that most attacks Christians? Muslims. Whereas here in the U.S., it’s most likely to be Leftists and atheists. Politicians and journalists as well as mobs.

A Democrat Senator to a SCOTUS nominee: “The [Catholic] dogma lives strongly within you.” Mindless TV show hosts: “Christians are like the Taliban.” Another Democrat Senator: Pro-life Catholics are just like supporters of Shari`a. HuffPost bloviator: “Chick-Fil-A funds hate groups.”

And so it goes. Either the people who say these things are truly stupid, or they are people of the lie. In a clinical, or perhaps theological, sense.

Whence Come These Attacks?

Is all of this anti-Christian animus simply the Leftist herd mentality? The kind that that side of the political spectrum has created since the French Revolution. (Ann Coulter was, in fact, prescient about this topic.) Is the explanation simply as Agent K from Men In Black put it: “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals. And you know it.”

Alas, it’s probably more than that. Read Aldous Huxley’s book The Devils of Loudun. It’s about the alleged mass possession of nuns, thanks to a priest in league with Satan, in a 17th century French convent. Huxley has his doubts about any actual diabolical activity. (He chalks it up more to sex.) Still, his 70-year old observations are trenchant, and relevant.

Few people now believe in the devil. But very many now enjoy behaving as their ancestors behaved when the Fiend was a reality as unquestionable as his Opposite Number. In order to justify their behavior, they turn their theories into dogmas, their bylaws into First Principles, their political bosses into gods and all those who disagree with them into incarnate devils. This idolatrous transformation … makes it possible for them to indulge their ugliest passions with a clear conscience and in the certainty that they are working for the highest good.

Saul Alinsky could not have said it better.

The Good News

Huxley also warned that “those who crusade not for God in themselves, but against the devil in others, never succeed in leaving the world better.” So I will stop before outright ascribing diabolism to Democrats and violent demonstrators.

Pentecost teaches that the ruler of this world will not always be so, and that he and his followers are already judged. However, Pentecost also saw St. Peter preach that “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” And it’s not too late for even the disobedient to mend their ways.

 

Timothy Furnish holds a PhD in Islamic, World and African history from Ohio State University and a MA in Theology from Concordia Seminary. He is a former U.S. Army Arabic linguist and, later, civilian consultant to U.S. Special Operations Command. He’s the author of books on the Middle East and Middle-earth, a history professor and sometime media opiner (as, for example, on Fox News Channel’s War Stories: Fighting ISIS).