The Unseen World

Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.  2 Kings 6:17

The unseen world is at least as real as the visible, temporal world you are observing right now.  This is one of the major themes of the Bible, and is the guy line from which a Christian sets his camp.  And not only Christians believe in an unseen, spiritual world.  The fact is, most of the world religions believe in an unseen plane of existence of some sort.  Followers of Christ are not alone in this general belief.

The differences are apparent when one studies the nature of this “spirit world,” between religions.  For the Christian, it is an existential reality that cannot be denied.  Angels are real and are at work, according the scriptures.1 Heaven is that unseen place that God promises those who choose to accept His Son as their Lord and Savior.  The Holy Spirit is the spirit of the Living God who guides and resides in those who believe in Christ as Savior.

But the idea of evil in the world arises from the belief in the unseen.  The Bible also speaks of fallen angels, and their leader, Satan.  It is not hard to conceive that both of these forces exist in the world together and are at war with one another.  And though there is a clear winner, as evidenced by Jesus’ perfect life and His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, there is still a period of time where these evil, unseen forces have the ability to act out.

We are currently witnessing the work of these evil unseen forces.  For one cannot deny that the world has quite suddenly tilted in favor of hatred and obscenity.  What once was considered evil is now considered good.  The bible speaks of this phenomenon, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isa 5:20)

New television shows like, “Lucifer” depict Satan as misunderstood and wise.  The rise of Satanic masses in America and the planting of the new Satanic church headquarters in Salem, MA, give credence to the reality that evil is manifesting itself from the unseen into our visible reality.

As Christians we need to be aware of the work of the enemy.  We cannot be apathetic toward the various forces which are coming against Christ and His Gospel.  We must be vigilant and tell as many as possible to be ready, to fight against those forces which suppress the Truth, and to encourage believers to focus on what is good and righteous.