One of the most frightening and nightmare inducing movies I saw as a child was the 1953 version of the movie War of the Worlds, an adaptation of a science fiction novel by H.G. Wells. The novel tells the story of a surprise, undetected Martian invasion that is an attempt to conquer and take over the Earth, using lethal heat rays and poisonous gas launched from their giant tripod war machines to kill men and women randomly. Another device was used to capture individuals who the Martians would kill and then feed themselves with their blood. The Martians reportedly had been monitoring the Earth for years from Mars and when their planet began to become increasingly uninhabitable, they plotted and carried out this invasion.
The novel reveals the evil nature and intent of this Martian horde as follows: “Yet across the gulf of space, minds that to our minds, are as those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.”
The human armies of Earth had no defense against an enemy that demonstrated vastly superior intelligence and weaponry. However, as was common in stories/movies of that era, the “good guys” win in the end.
Although the story was meant to be more of a political statement than religious, there are religious overtones and imagery, particularly to the ending. The quotation above in the description of the nature of the Martians included the phrase, as beasts that perish, which is found in Psalm 49:20, where it is a condemnation of human pride which sees itself in no need of the honor that comes from God alone (John 5:44).
In the novel there is a “deranged” clergyman who relates the invasion to that of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). Much like John the Baptist and the prophets of the Old Testament, his cries of warning are met with disdain, and He is ultimately zapped by the Martians.
The victory over these evil and detestable beings is achieved not by human might nor ingenuity, but by unseen microscopic bacteria in the air, to which humanity had developed natural immunity. As the Martians were increasingly exposed to this, having no immunity to it at all, they began to drop like flies, their war machines rendered useless, their vile and destructive intentions undone by a tiny, seemingly insignificant, unseen entity. Although their demise was given a natural explanation, it was also believed to be an answer to prayer, as people had taken refuge in churches with the narrator stating at the end that humanity was “saved by the littlest things, which God in His wisdom (and grace) had put upon the Earth”, referring to the bacteria.
Prior to the movie, a 1938 radio dramatization of his novel reportedly caused no small panic among American listeners, particularly on the east coast, as the drama creatively simulated news reports from the scene of the first terrifying encounter with the Martians. Those who tuned into the drama late perceived it to be a real attack by a dangerous and deadly enemy.
Truth be told, we do presently live in a hostile, dangerous world that is under attack, on a planet inhabited by a multiplicity of enemies, both seen and unseen, wherein fear and anxiety, worry and agitation, panic and distress are prevalent, and understandably so.
An enemy is someone who opposes, displays hostility toward the plans and purposes, the safety and wellbeing of another. The term enmity is used to describe the state of feeling or being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.
Of our seen enemies, we have first and foremost human beings, who are at the core of our being, what the Bible refers to as our heart, deceitful and desperately wicked, the thoughts and imaginations of which are only evil continually (Jeremiah 17:9) (Genesis 6:5). This evil and wickedness, which results in our enmity toward one another, is seen throughout human history in the innumerable wars and insurrections, criminal acts, lies, slanders and broken promises, ethnic prejudices and other acts of injustice which are the legacy of fallen mankind. As the old Pogo cartoon proclaimed, “We have met the enemy, and he is us”.
Our seen enemies also include nature’s enmity toward man displayed in hurricanes, earthquakes, firestorms, floods, attacks by wild animals and poisonous insects. Similar to the experience of our Martian “friends”, we also experience the intrusion of microscopic organisms, bacteria and viruses into our bodies, bringing about sickness and disease, which many times bring us into the presence of our greatest enemy while in this world, physical death (1 Corinthians 15:26).
Unseen enemies within us that can cause emotional misery and lead to physical death, include shame, guilt, depression, loneliness, fear, anxiety, meaninglessness and hopelessness.
The unseen enemy behind many of the activities of both our seen and unseen enemies, is the one the Bible refers to as the “serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world”, particularly regarding the truth of God. Throughout the book of Revelation, he is referred to as the “dragon”, revealing his beastly nature. (Revelation 12:9).
Now there is no doubt, at least as the Bible is concerned, that Satan is a very real enemy of both God and the image bearers of God – the human race (Isaiah 14:13-14) (1 Peter 5:8). He is revealed as a fallen angel (Luke 10:18), a supernatural spiritual being who operates out of the spiritual dimension, directly impacting what the Bible refers to in Galatians 1:4 as this present evil world.
Jesus describes the Devil as a liar and murderer (John 8:44), and the Apostle Paul warns us of the reality of this enemy in Ephesians 6:10-12 where he writes, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For 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.” Paul then encourages the Church in Corinth not to be ignorant of Satan’s strategies for our demise (2 Corinthians 2:11).
And it is with this in mind that I want to focus on this beastly adversary and his strategies in my next couple of posts.
However, before I end this one, I want to be sure we know, without a doubt, who our most powerful enemy is. He is the one who holds each breath we take in His hands and owns our days, the eternal God who created us to know, love and be loved by Him, whose purpose for and rule over our lives we have rejected, and whose order and design for human flourishing and our individual happiness in Him we have contradicted and opposed (Daniel 5:23) (Ecclesiastes 7:29) (Romans 8:7-8) (Romans 3:9-18).
In doing so, we have made ourselves His enemies, subject to His awful wrath and just judgement that will end in death, the second death which is Hell (Revelation 21:8). Our only escape from this is through faith in the Lamb that was slain in our place, Jesus Christ, who God in His wisdom and grace, sent to the earth to turn people from their sinful rebellion, and save them from His wrath and judgment which our rebellion justly deserves (Revelation 5:12) (Romans 5:8-11) (John 3:16) (John 3:36).
Thus, it can and must be proclaimed with great joy and gladness by those who have been saved, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Amen!
Grace and Peace ×
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