God, Satan, and Sandy Hook Elementary
By: J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.
December 17, 2012
Like most of you, I presume, I find myself unable to get the horrific events that took place this past Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut out of my mind. I just keep thinking of the terrified children and grief-stricken parents. It is all so very, very tragic.
I attended elementary school myself in nearby Danbury, so this tragedy hit pretty close to home for me. My family has friends in Newtown. As I heard reports of victims being taken to Danbury Hospital, my mind took me back to several childhood trips to that hospital to mend broken bones or get stitched up after my latest bicycle mishap.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that one of the nation's deadliest mass shootings would occur in that tranquil area where I grew up—in a public kindergarten, no less, full of precious, innocent children. But then again, can we ever really imagine such horror happening anywhere?
It is in times like these that our faith meets sight. It is easy to walk by faith when things make sense. But it is when our reality is rocked by some inexplicable and incomprehensible event that faith must really kick in.
Because I believe that God has revealed Himself to us in His written Word, the Bible, and because I believe the Bible contains everything we need for life, my mind turns to Scripture to seek an answer.
The crux of the matter in cases like this comes down to, "Why does God allow evil?" It is really a question of sovereignty versus free will. If I could solve that, I would be famous indeed. By its very nature, the sovereignty/free will issue is an antinomy—something that cannot be explained in human terms, to human satisfaction. Isaiah 40:13-14 reminds us that God's knowledge is unique to Him. And Proverbs 21:30 confirms that there is no wisdom, or counsel or understanding higher than His. So as hard as it may be, we are left to trust Him and Him alone as knowing what is best. That’s the essence of faith.
For many people, this approach to the question of evil in the world is inadequate and trite. I understand. It leaves me wanting more too.
That is why an important part of my biblical worldview is understanding God's ultimate plan of the ages and knowing how He will work out His justice in the end. Eschatology—the study of the End Times—is not just a hobby or whimsy of mine. It is the key cog in my worldview. I could not survive in a world where everyone is under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19) if I did not believe that God wins in the end.
Right now, wickedness—even unspeakable wickedness—triumphs in this present evil age (Galatians 1:4) where Satan is the prince (Ephesians 2:2). It is an age of great deception and unprecedented, ever intensifying evil. When I see things like what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary, I get angry and crave God's divine intervention more than ever. I wonder why He does not just usher in the Kingdom right here, right now. Why wait?
But in the absence of an answer to that question, I can take comfort in knowing that ultimately, God will intervene. A better day is coming. A day of complete justice when Satan and all of his human and demonic enjoys will be judged once and for all. It is that promise of Scripture that allows me to keep going when things don't make sense in the present world.
Let me add one more thought that grows out of an intense study I undertook for the last five years or so. It is a study of Satan and his role in this world that culminated in the publication of my latest book, The Great Last Days Deception.
Strangely, this study served to strengthen my faith like never before. Having awakened to reality as it is, as opposed to as it appears to be, I am able to process such atrocities as the one this past Friday more readily (not more easily, but more readily). I have a box to put it in.
I have looked beyond the angel of light (where most people dwell) into the prince of darkness (where few dare to venture). I understand that Satan is all about death. He is a murderer (John 8:44) who comes to this earth to kill (John 10:10). He wants total world domination and it is nothing, I mean nothing, for him to kill thousands upon thousands of people at a time. He tried to kill Adam and Eve. He tried to kill Jesus Christ. And he wants to kill you. He is a killer. It is in his very nature. Human history is replete with examples of his carefree, savage, brutality. And here's the key: he uses human agents to do his bidding!
That's the connection that most people cannot make. They understand, on some level, that there is a devil and that he is evil. But they haven't yet come to the rather obvious conclusion that Satan has a human face. Unfortunately, the vast majority of individuals are incapable of connecting the dots that allow them to see Luciferianism for what it is. It is hidden in plain sight. Literally.
There are at least two reasons people are unable to make this connection between Satan's goal of world domination and his use of human agents to achieve his evil ends. First, they are victims of cognitive dissonance (CD). CD is the term psychologists use to refer to the inability of people to comprehend any reality that is too disparate from their preconceived notion of reality. It is a sort of defense mechanism. We are instinctively motivated to eliminate any dissonant reality—no matter how empirical and irrefutable the evidence—that challenges our existing cognition, hence, cognitive dissonance. I'm not much for psychological mumbo-jumbo. But call it what you wish, cognitive dissonance exists!
A second reason people are unable to make the connection between Satan's goal of a one-world order under his control and his use of human agents to achieve this murderous goal relates to what some have called national faith. National faith refers to one's blind faith in America, according to which he becomes convinced that Americans, and especially our government leaders, are immune to the depravity of man and would never do anything utterly evil like government leaders in other countries have done for the past several thousand years. In other words, even though citizens have been victimized by evil, rogue elements of their governments throughout all of human history, somehow all of that changed in 1776. Somehow, American leaders are different—all of them.
There is no way that the American government could be infiltrated by satanically led, evil agents hell bent on helping usher in Satan's one-world order. They may have the occasional marital affair, or embezzle money, or take kickbacks. But they would never do anything as evil as, say, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot, Saddam, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, etc. After all, this is America! Or so those who are victims of national faith convince themselves.
In any event, while it is true that America is unique in many ways, and was founded upon Christian principles, and while it is also true that America became arguably the greatest nation in human history (because of our Christian heritage, in my view), it does not follow that Americans and American leaders are incapable of evil. In fact, it is just the opposite. Because of America's stature in human history, it makes our country a prime target in Satan's quest for world domination. This is why the human face of his evil plan is headquartered in the United States. The economic, political, and religious beachhead of the Luciferian global elite is the United States.
Regardless of whether the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary was the result of one demonically inspired lone gunman, or some kind of false flag event orchestrated by a broader Luciferian elite aimed at disarming the citizenry by convincing Americans to turn in their guns, one thing is certain. Satan is alive and well on planet earth. And so is God.
Apart from a biblical worldview that acknowledges: (A) Satan is working out his short term plan in the present evil age and (B) God is working out His ultimate plan of perfect peace, justice and righteousness at the same time, tragic events like the one that took place in Newtown, Connecticut will remain incomprehensible.
As inadequate as it may seem in times of unspeakable grief like this, it is true. The Bible promises (1) God is in control even when evil seems to triumph temporarily; (2) All evil will be recompensed; (3) Justice will prevail; (4) God wins in the end.
For further study about Satan and his role in the world today, please see The Great Last Days Deception.
December 17, 2012
Like most of you, I presume, I find myself unable to get the horrific events that took place this past Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut out of my mind. I just keep thinking of the terrified children and grief-stricken parents. It is all so very, very tragic.
I attended elementary school myself in nearby Danbury, so this tragedy hit pretty close to home for me. My family has friends in Newtown. As I heard reports of victims being taken to Danbury Hospital, my mind took me back to several childhood trips to that hospital to mend broken bones or get stitched up after my latest bicycle mishap.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that one of the nation's deadliest mass shootings would occur in that tranquil area where I grew up—in a public kindergarten, no less, full of precious, innocent children. But then again, can we ever really imagine such horror happening anywhere?
It is in times like these that our faith meets sight. It is easy to walk by faith when things make sense. But it is when our reality is rocked by some inexplicable and incomprehensible event that faith must really kick in.
Because I believe that God has revealed Himself to us in His written Word, the Bible, and because I believe the Bible contains everything we need for life, my mind turns to Scripture to seek an answer.
The crux of the matter in cases like this comes down to, "Why does God allow evil?" It is really a question of sovereignty versus free will. If I could solve that, I would be famous indeed. By its very nature, the sovereignty/free will issue is an antinomy—something that cannot be explained in human terms, to human satisfaction. Isaiah 40:13-14 reminds us that God's knowledge is unique to Him. And Proverbs 21:30 confirms that there is no wisdom, or counsel or understanding higher than His. So as hard as it may be, we are left to trust Him and Him alone as knowing what is best. That’s the essence of faith.
For many people, this approach to the question of evil in the world is inadequate and trite. I understand. It leaves me wanting more too.
That is why an important part of my biblical worldview is understanding God's ultimate plan of the ages and knowing how He will work out His justice in the end. Eschatology—the study of the End Times—is not just a hobby or whimsy of mine. It is the key cog in my worldview. I could not survive in a world where everyone is under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19) if I did not believe that God wins in the end.
Right now, wickedness—even unspeakable wickedness—triumphs in this present evil age (Galatians 1:4) where Satan is the prince (Ephesians 2:2). It is an age of great deception and unprecedented, ever intensifying evil. When I see things like what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary, I get angry and crave God's divine intervention more than ever. I wonder why He does not just usher in the Kingdom right here, right now. Why wait?
But in the absence of an answer to that question, I can take comfort in knowing that ultimately, God will intervene. A better day is coming. A day of complete justice when Satan and all of his human and demonic enjoys will be judged once and for all. It is that promise of Scripture that allows me to keep going when things don't make sense in the present world.
Let me add one more thought that grows out of an intense study I undertook for the last five years or so. It is a study of Satan and his role in this world that culminated in the publication of my latest book, The Great Last Days Deception.
Strangely, this study served to strengthen my faith like never before. Having awakened to reality as it is, as opposed to as it appears to be, I am able to process such atrocities as the one this past Friday more readily (not more easily, but more readily). I have a box to put it in.
I have looked beyond the angel of light (where most people dwell) into the prince of darkness (where few dare to venture). I understand that Satan is all about death. He is a murderer (John 8:44) who comes to this earth to kill (John 10:10). He wants total world domination and it is nothing, I mean nothing, for him to kill thousands upon thousands of people at a time. He tried to kill Adam and Eve. He tried to kill Jesus Christ. And he wants to kill you. He is a killer. It is in his very nature. Human history is replete with examples of his carefree, savage, brutality. And here's the key: he uses human agents to do his bidding!
That's the connection that most people cannot make. They understand, on some level, that there is a devil and that he is evil. But they haven't yet come to the rather obvious conclusion that Satan has a human face. Unfortunately, the vast majority of individuals are incapable of connecting the dots that allow them to see Luciferianism for what it is. It is hidden in plain sight. Literally.
There are at least two reasons people are unable to make this connection between Satan's goal of world domination and his use of human agents to achieve his evil ends. First, they are victims of cognitive dissonance (CD). CD is the term psychologists use to refer to the inability of people to comprehend any reality that is too disparate from their preconceived notion of reality. It is a sort of defense mechanism. We are instinctively motivated to eliminate any dissonant reality—no matter how empirical and irrefutable the evidence—that challenges our existing cognition, hence, cognitive dissonance. I'm not much for psychological mumbo-jumbo. But call it what you wish, cognitive dissonance exists!
A second reason people are unable to make the connection between Satan's goal of a one-world order under his control and his use of human agents to achieve this murderous goal relates to what some have called national faith. National faith refers to one's blind faith in America, according to which he becomes convinced that Americans, and especially our government leaders, are immune to the depravity of man and would never do anything utterly evil like government leaders in other countries have done for the past several thousand years. In other words, even though citizens have been victimized by evil, rogue elements of their governments throughout all of human history, somehow all of that changed in 1776. Somehow, American leaders are different—all of them.
There is no way that the American government could be infiltrated by satanically led, evil agents hell bent on helping usher in Satan's one-world order. They may have the occasional marital affair, or embezzle money, or take kickbacks. But they would never do anything as evil as, say, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot, Saddam, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, etc. After all, this is America! Or so those who are victims of national faith convince themselves.
In any event, while it is true that America is unique in many ways, and was founded upon Christian principles, and while it is also true that America became arguably the greatest nation in human history (because of our Christian heritage, in my view), it does not follow that Americans and American leaders are incapable of evil. In fact, it is just the opposite. Because of America's stature in human history, it makes our country a prime target in Satan's quest for world domination. This is why the human face of his evil plan is headquartered in the United States. The economic, political, and religious beachhead of the Luciferian global elite is the United States.
Regardless of whether the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary was the result of one demonically inspired lone gunman, or some kind of false flag event orchestrated by a broader Luciferian elite aimed at disarming the citizenry by convincing Americans to turn in their guns, one thing is certain. Satan is alive and well on planet earth. And so is God.
Apart from a biblical worldview that acknowledges: (A) Satan is working out his short term plan in the present evil age and (B) God is working out His ultimate plan of perfect peace, justice and righteousness at the same time, tragic events like the one that took place in Newtown, Connecticut will remain incomprehensible.
As inadequate as it may seem in times of unspeakable grief like this, it is true. The Bible promises (1) God is in control even when evil seems to triumph temporarily; (2) All evil will be recompensed; (3) Justice will prevail; (4) God wins in the end.
For further study about Satan and his role in the world today, please see The Great Last Days Deception.
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