Chapter 10 - The R12 Rebel Movement
In April 2012, a group of soldiers deserted from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) army following a mutiny. This rebel military group was known as the March 23 Movement often abbreviated as M23. This movement was made up of trained soldiers who had real war weapons, it wasn’t just a group of civilians who had bought some small weapons from the black market who can be easily contained, no but they were soldiers who posed a great threat. Though no longer part of the army, these rebels still possessed skills they had obtained from the military, they knew how to use weapons, they knew the dos and don'ts of the battlefield.
In November 2012 the M23 rebels took over a regional capital called Goma with over a million residents as the Congolese army retreated. During this siege, more than 2,000 Congolese soldiers and 700 policemen defected to M23. Human rights groups accused the M23 fighters of committing various atrocities such as summary executions, rapes, and the forced recruitment of children.
The rebels were later defeated in late 2013 by the national army and a special United Nations Intervention Force. Three points we must note from this rebellion are that: firstly, the group was made up of soldiers, though they had rebelled, they still possessed their military tactics, secondly, they caused suffering to the general public and lastly, they were defeated.
In the Bible, we have a record of a group of rebels, though not humans but created beings. In the previous chapter- ‘The Star Wars’- we learnt about angels. Of all the angels that were created by God, some rebelled and are no longer loyal to Him. This rebellion is recorded in the 12th Chapter of the book of Revelations, that is why I have titled this chapter ‘The R12 (Revelation 12th chapter) Rebel Movement’.
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:7-9
When there was war in heaven, Michael together with his angels fought on the Lord’s side against the dragon (Satan) who had the backing of angels which he had deceived. Satan was defeated and cast down to earth together with the angels who had rebelled with him. Those rebel angels formed one-third of the total angels (see Revelation 12:4).
When a soldier has been dismissed from the army it doesn’t mean that he also loses the skills and training that he obtained while in service. He still can use a gun and do many other things though he is no longer part of the army. These angels were cast out of heaven but they still possess their angelic powers. They are no longer holy as they were before but they are still powerful. We must never underestimate the abilities of Satan together with his angels otherwise they will take advantage of us if we are ignorant of their devices (2 Corinthians 2:11).
These rebel angels are also Biblically referred to as demons, or devils or evil spirits or unclean spirits and are involved in this great spiritual war between good and evil. Their main agenda is to cause those who dwell on this earth not to be saved but rather that every human may join those angels in the lake of fire where they shall be destroyed. This objective is achieved by various ways some of which will be explained in the following passages.
Human Possession
These demonic angels can possess human beings and control them. One person can be possessed by more than one evil spirit. Mary Magdalene once had seven demons (Mark 16:9). Another man had a legion of these demons (Luke 8:30). After possessing a person, they can control how that person behaves and in most cases, they lead people into sins. These angels can cause a person to have an animal like behaviours, consider the man who had a legion of demons (Luke 8:27-35; Mark 5:1-17). The man wore no clothes – demons can cause a person to present their naked bodies to the public, or even to be half-naked all in the name of fashion. He didn’t abide in a house but among the tombs – a normal person cannot forsake a proper home to dwell at the graveyard. He would break apart chains and fetters used to subdue him – a demon-possessed person can display great physical power beyond human comprehension. The man used to cut himself with stones – demons can cause a person to inflict harm on themselves or even lead them to commit suicide. The list goes on and on of what these unclean spirits can do when they possess a person.
Cause of human suffering
The rebel angels can cause human suffering. The Bible narrative of the story of Job reveals how Satan can cause suffering to people. Satan was permitted by God to tempt Job, so whatever disasters which occurred to Job, where from Satan himself. Let’s consider the 1st and 2nd chapters of the book of Job where we can extract the following points.
I have just picked one story from the Bible to explain how Satan and his angels can cause human suffering. There are many other scriptures which reveal other things of how these rebels cause suffering to people.
Spiritual Deception
Since Satan and his angels were kicked out of heaven, they have been involved in spiritual works which mimic those of God the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. The aim of such imitations is meant to deceive people so that they turn away from following the truth and follow lies. Evil spirits can perform miracles (see Rev 16:14). The Egyptian magicians with the help of evil spirits replicated three miracles which were done by Moses and Aaron the servants of God (see Exodus 7:8-22; Exodus 8:5-7). These miracles aimed to resist the plan of God to move His people from Egypt to the Promised Land.
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” Matthew 24:24
False christs and false prophets have indeed arisen and they are performing great signs and wonders. Miracles which are done through the power of evil spirits are aimed at deceiving non- believers so that they do not seek the true God. Those miracles are also aimed at deceiving even believers so that they may think they are following the truth when they are not. Be careful, not every miracle is from God, some miracles are from the rebel angels.
False prophets work hand in glove with the fallen angels, that’s why 1 John 4:1 tells us not to believe every spirit because some are evil spirits which are being used by false prophets. These angels can pretend to foretell future events via the false prophets and they call it a prophecy when it is divination. In Acts 16 we read of a woman who had a spirit of divination, she could foretell the future but the spirit behind her powers was an evil spirit which Paul later cast out. Such people are present with us today, they pretend to foretell the future and operate as palm readers, fortune tellers, astrologers and some even call themselves prophets of God. The whole aim is to draw away people from following Jesus.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1
There are people who in these last days are departing from the true faith and are now following deceiving spirits and their teachings. Those rebel angels have doctrines, meaning to say they teach people, but obviously, they can't come to you in their angelic form and try to teach you, you would be quick to identify that something is amiss. Rather, they make use of men and women as a front and feed them with their lies so that they may in turn teach others likewise. So to be safe, we need to be grounded in the word of God. Let us be diligent students of the Bible and let it be our foundation for everything that we believe in.
State of the dead deceptions
The first lie recorded in the Bible was spoken by Satan (through the serpent) to Eve with regards to state of the dead. God had told Adam that if he was to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil he would SURELY DIE (Genesis 2:16-17). With regards to that same tree, Satan said to Eve if you eat it, you will NOT SURELY DIE (Genesis 3:1-4). Yes, you might die, but not surely, that is the devil’s heresy. Ever since then, Satan and his angels are in the business of trying to support this lie that a person does not surely die by using their powers to perform miracles in line with that message. Many signs and wonders are done by evil angels with an attempt to give people the impression that dead people are not really dead but are somehow still alive.
Ghosts do exist for real but they are not spirits of dead people. It is a demon which pretends to be the spirit of the dead person so that those who are alive are led to conclude that a dead person does not really die but can come back as a ghost. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says
“And no wonder! For Satan, himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” If Satan the prince of darkness can transform himself into an angel of light, surely it is an easier task for him to transform himself into a human who is already dead. The devil can pretend to be your loved one, or enemy or even stranger, he can do that. In the previous chapter, we learnt that angels can present themselves in the form of humans. If they can look like living humans, what stops the fallen angels to present themselves in the form of dead humans?
As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore. Job 7:9-10
When a person goes down to the grave (dies), the Bible tells us that they do not return to their house. Therefore, whatever comes back to a house claiming to be a dead person is not that person at all. Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 tells us that the dead know nothing, nothing means absolutely that, nothing, zero, nada. A dead person does not even know his/her former place of residence so how can they come back to the place they used to stay?
Angels, however (even the fallen ones) have records of human history, they know the things which might not be common knowledge to man. The fallen angels then use that information to imitate a dead person.
When Moses died, God was the One who buried him and the Bible is clear that no one knows the location of his grave even up to today (read Deuteronomy 34:6). No human being knows exactly where Moses was buried. Nevertheless, if we are to read Jude 1:9 we will see Michael the archangel contending with Satan over the body of Moses. This shows that Satan knew where Moses’s grave was located yet no human being had that kind of knowledge. The rebel angels know where dead people’s remains are, information which might not be readily available among the living. Armed with such information, a demon can possess a living person and starts to mimic the voice of a dead person and goes on to say things like “come and exhume my remains, I was buried at a place I don’t like, I am at such and such a place”. If you go to that place where the ‘dead person’ is claiming to be buried at and dig it up, you can find the said remains there. Confronted with such a scenario, those who are ignorant about what God’s word says in regards to dead people, will be quick to conclude that the dead can communicate with the living, yet it was a rebel angel speaking to them.
So the next time you dream of a dead person talking to you, be assured that it is by no means that the deceased is trying to communicate with you through dreams. It could be Satan or his angel trying to deceive you. Remember angels can appear in one's dreams. They can use images of people who you loved so much (or even enemies). You can dream of your late grandfather who comes and tells you all sorts of nice advice which if you implement into your life will turn out to be good advice. But what Satan is doing is trying to gain your trust, once you trust such dreams and visions of your late relative, he will then use it to his advantage to feed you with his lies. So the next time you dream of a dead person, just know that it’s not your late parent, it’s not your late friend. Pray against such dreams and they will not happen again.
Ghosts can present themselves in a form of a mysterious fire which can usually be seen emanating from the cemetery. Remember what we learnt about concerning angels: they can present themselves in the form of fires. What you think to be a spirit of a dead person is a rebel angel pretending to be a dead person who has come back as a ghost.
Overcoming the rebels
After learning about the rebel angels some might be scared about them and feel hopeless, but we need not worry. God provided for us ways which we can use to overcome these rebel angels. On Matthew 10:8 when Jesus sent out His disciples into the city to preach the gospel, He gave them the power to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead and to cast out devils. Jesus knew that this mission his disciples were embarking on was spiritual warfare and hence He empowered them with spiritual power to cast out devils. In Jesus, there is the power to cast out evil spirits. However, it has to be clear that this power was not just given to the disciples when they were idle, it was given to them when they were sent on God’s work. We can never fully experience the power of God when we are not followers of Jesus Christ and even if we are followers but if we are just idle and we are not engaged in the mission of the gospel, we will not fully experience it. You will never fully understand how powerful a gun is up until you go with it into battle.
On Luke 10 Jesus sent out at once seventy disciples to preach the gospel and they returned with joy saying "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." (Luke 10:17). There is power in the name of Jesus to drive out unclean spirits and this power is available to everyone who believes in Jesus.
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name, they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; Mark 16:17
Signs will follow those that believe (not believers following after signs). One of the signs which follow believers is the power of casting out demons. This power will follow believers as they are actively involved in the work of God and walking in obedience to His word. You can’t just be seated without any concern with the work of God and while you are living in disobedience and expect to have this power.
The sons of Sceva wanted to cast out demons in the name of Jesus but they didn’t have a relationship with Jesus Himself. They thought the name Jesus was some kind of a magic spell-like ‘abracadabra’ which you can just say and it will work even if you have not been sent by Jesus. Thus they said to a man who was possessed by a demon; "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leapt on them, overpowered them and prevailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19:13-16). Though they used the name of Jesus, they failed to overcome the evil angels because they just used the name of Christ but without a relationship with him. It’s not just a matter of shouting against Satan but there has to be a relationship between you and Jesus, otherwise, you will not win this battle.
Physical restraining methods are no match for evil spirits. Remember our weapons are not carnal, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. People once tried to subdue a man who had a legion of demons by using chains and shackles, but he would break those things apart (Mark 5:4). Physically fighting a demon-possessed person will not drive