By now, I'm sure you are aware of the Iowa city council meeting at which a former member opened the meeting with his invocation praising Satan. Harbinger's Daily reported that the one-time city council member began by praying to the "dark father" to "embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat from the tree of knowledge", and then concluded his prayer with "Hail Satan".
My first reaction was extreme sadness mixed with outrage that our nation has fallen so far from honoring the Most High God who has blessed this country beyond what we deserve. We were once considered a Christian nation at our core, but I have witnessed throughout the last few decades of my life the "falling away" that Jesus prophesies in Matthew 24:10 ... And many will turn away from Me and betray and hate each other (New Living Translation). Other versions mention "falling away" or "stumbling"; but all speak of the loss of true faith in Jesus Christ alone.
But Scripture makes it very clear that God commands that He alone is to be worshiped and served. At the beginning of His ministry, Satan tries to tempt Jesus to break this commandment by offering him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Satan tempts Him by saying, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me". The Bible tells us this: "Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve". Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him (Matthew 4:10).
The fact that angels came to minister to our Lord, has me wondering ... what was Jesus's heart and mind saying to Him after this temptation? Was He struck with the realization and sorrow that mortal man would have a difficult time rejecting this kind of enticing temptation from the devil? Was He beginning to see that His ministry for the next three years was going to be very difficult and disheartening? How could He, a man, Himself, convince other men that the glory offered by Satan didn't compare to the glory of Almighty God, and what He was offering them? Was He then understanding how easy it would be for Satan to blind people to the Truth He was bringing to mankind? Ultimately, I imagine He was in great need of the heavenly ministry the angels brought Him; knowing that those who chose to follow worldly temptation and lies would align themselves with the desires of the devil rather than with God.
Just contemplating all this could easily drive someone without a strong foundation of faith and Biblical prophecy to lose heart in the world. But God always has a remnant that responds to the evil agenda of our Enemy. Apparently, as soon as the Satanic invocation was pronounced, the City Council then recited the Pledge of Allegiance [which was at the least, a move in the right direction, albeit a weak response]. But, thank the Lord, at the conclusion of the Pledge, Pastor Rick Bick interrupted the meeting by demanding that the Satanic prayer be renounced! "Let's just reverse this curse that was put on our city," Bick exclaimed. "That ending with 'Hail Satan' or 'Hail dark god", that's not welcome here".
Another City Council member asked him to refrain from further comments until later in the meeting when public feedback was scheduled. Pastor Bick refused. "It needs to be done now," he said. "[Hail Satan] was a curse put on our city... and we need to just stop and reverse it." I praise this Pastor for standing for the Word of God and His Sovereignty in our nation. And the article makes note that the Mayor overruled the Council member who tried to restrain the Pastor, but only says the Mayor asked for "30 seconds of silence to allow for prayer and reflection".
And here is where I would like to make a stronger statement in this matter. Let's consider the actions of several people involved in this matter: the Satan worshiper, the City Council members, the Mayor, and the Pastor. Apparently, the city's invocation policy "does not endorse any faith or religious denomination, but is intended to acknowledge and express the City Council's respect for the diversity of both organized and unorganized religious denominations, as well as other faiths, belief systems, or the lack thereof, represented and practiced by it's citizens".
The City Council member who asked Pastor Bick to refrain from his comments until after the meeting made a statement later regarding the controversy. Her view was that by facilitating an invocation before city council meeting, they had invited dissension and disagreement. "I think we've opened ourselves up for others to object or respond to others' invocations. And we need to remember that we are up here to be neutral and allow viewpoints [precisely] because we've opened up invocations".
Another Council member decided to leave the meeting as soon as the Satan worshiper began his remarks and returned in time for the Pledge of Allegiance. "I'm a Christian, with Christian values," he said. "That doesn't mean I don't want to observe his First Amendment right. It just means I want to use my rights not to observe that".
I'm afraid that all the participants I have mentioned are a picture of the state of faith in not only our nation, but in the world. The Satan worshiper feels emboldened to call upon his "dark father" and to encourage others to "embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat from the tree of knowledge". We, as Christians, must know and understand that the tree of knowledge contained the knowledge of both good and evil, and that God forbid His creation to eat of it, lest they be tempted to consume knowledge of evil. This man acknowledged and encouraged people to "embrace" the "impulse" [urge, instinct, drive, desire, need] that comes from Satan to know more about evil. Furthermore, this Satan worshiper was a former member of the City Council, showing us that Satan's followers have infiltrated our realms of government!
Secondly, I want to consider the Council Member who proclaimed that her position on that Council was "to be neutral" and allow a different viewpoint in expressing an invocation. Let us be aware that first of all, an invocation is "the action of appealing to or summoning something or someone for assistance or as an authority". By establishing that the Council's job was to be neutral in the case of the Satan worshiper, was, in my opinion, to compromise with the devil; to allow this man to call upon Satan as an authority over that meeting and all those in attendance.
Then we have the Council member who left the meeting as soon as the satanic invocation began, only to return for the Pledge of Allegiance. That was a pretty blatant statement that he didn't approve of praying to Satan, but where was his loud and vocal declaration that Jesus was Lord of the Council and no other entity had authority? He reminds me of the people in Matthew 7:21-23, who respond to Jesus' remarks that "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you worker of lawlessness' ".
Yes, this Council member refused to acknowledge or listen to the blasphemous invocation, but he did nothing to stop the spewing of adulterous words about God's Enemy. Those words now had the authority to take root within that City Council meeting and all the laws and policies they instituted that would govern the community. He refused to hear the praise of Satan but his effort was lukewarm at best, and allowed the prayer to do its harm.
Pastor Bick interrupted the meeting [albeit after the Satanic invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance] demanding the Satanic prayer be renounced. He rightly announced that a curse had been put on their city and it could not stand. But what did the Mayor do? He asked for 30 seconds of silence and then called for prayer and reflection. I could find nothing on whether Pastor Bick was allowed to pray in response to cover the curse with the Blood of Jesus.
I'm sure there are people [even Christians] who think I am making too much of this incident. But my spirit loudly protests of the lack of faith to counter such a bold and disturbing measure of publicly worshiping Satan! I don't know about you, but when Jesus says "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of Heaven", and follows it up with "I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness", I take that very seriously!
WORKERS OF LAWLESSNESS ... meaning we are not following God's laws. And what is the first law He gives us in the Ten Commandments? You shall have no other gods before Me. John 14:15 says, If you love Me, you will keep my commandments. John 15:14 says, You are My friends if you do what I command you. By allowing Satan to be prayed to, summoned, and hailed, did that City Council put God first? And do you think that Jesus views that City Council, Mayor, or any of the other people who attended that meeting His friends?!?
I sincerely don't want to think I am overstating my premise in this matter, but God condemns those who worship Satan, and Matthew 4:10 clearly tells us to worship the Lord our God, and serve only Him. As faithful Christians, we are called upon to be spiritually vigilant and to be watchful against the influences of Satan. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us: Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some to devour. There were ample opportunities in that public meeting to stand against those very influences. But by "remaining neutral" and refusing to stop the worship of Satan, do you think Jesus will say He never knew those in attendance?
In conclusion, I will tell you that this incident made me sober-minded. I asked myself what I would have done if I was in that room? Would I have had the courage to stand up at the first words honoring Satan and denounce the prayer in the Name of the Most High God? It's easy to sit at my key-board and criticize others. But I earnestly pray that I would not dishonor my Lord and Savior in such a moment as this. "I never knew you" is the most devastating imputation that My Lord could ever ascribe to my walk with Him. Lord, let me stand strong in my faith!
Luke 18:8 ... When the Son of Man comes, will He find [this kind of persistent] faith on the earth?
