“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). On home service last week, I passed through Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I had been invited to preach at Redeemer Lutheran Church but also wanted to visit with several faculty members to report on my mission work. In addition, I did some research in the beautiful lakeside library. At one point I struck up a conversation with the man sitting at the next desk. He turned out to be a pastor and PhD candidate from Madagascar. “What is your topic?” I inquired, “Exorcisms,” he replied. That piqued my interest. I asked him to elaborate. “In our country epilepsy is common,” he explained, “just like in the New Testament. The problem is that virtually everyone back home believes epileptic seizures are caused solely by demons. Our people completely reject any possibility of medical causes for epilepsy. I wish to demonstrate that epileptic seizures could be caused by a demonic attack but could also have medical reasons.” “That is fascinating,” I remarked. “Here and in Europe people would reach the opposite conclusion.” “What do you mean?” he wondered. “Most everyone would argue that epileptic seizures are only a medical issue. It would be extremely rare for someone here to think that they have anything to do with demonic attacks. I agree with you: epileptic seizures could have medical causes, or be the result of a demonic attack, or both.” We Christians should keep in mind that almost everything in life has spiritual dimensions, as Paul teaches in Eph 6. If we could see the spiritual warfare going on around us at all times, we would be horrified. Praise the Lord that He has protected us from seeing those battles but even more so that He defeated sin, death, and the devil on the cross and on that first Easter morning.
The Tiews in Germany 