Isaiah 60: 1-2-
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
Psalms 78: 4-7-
“We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
5 For he issued his laws to Jacob;
he gave his instructions to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children,
6 so the next generation might know them—
even the children not yet born—
and they in turn will teach their own children.
7 So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands.”
I had a dream…
I was carried up above the face of the earth, and I said, “Show me the spiritual darkness that is covering this world”. I was then thrust up into the sky, going higher and higher. It was very dark, and I couldn’t see anything, all I could feel was the wind blowing past my body as I continued to gain speed.
I was holding something in my left hand, but I couldn’t tell what it was because of the darkness. Suddenly, the item was yanked away by the force of the wind as I ascended.
Afterwards, I jolted awake within my dream, and I found myself laying on the couch in my apartment clutching a deck of colorful playing cards. They resembled the cards of fantasy games typically played by children, for example, Pokémon or Yu Gi Oh. Each card had a unique character and detailed their names, special powers, and story/history within the game.
Confused, I grabbed the card on the top of the deck and examined it. The character had a creepy appearance and an emphatically evil name, something like, “Sir Evilwickedchronicus”. The top half of the card had his picture (a cartoon), and he was flying through the night sky holding a cape/cloth in his left hand. The bottom half of the card detailed the story of his life, powers, and violent death.
When I saw the cape, I remembered flying through the darkness with something being ripped out of my left hand. Immediately, I had an epiphany.
And then I woke up.
Psalms 119:105- “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
God instructed me to urge parents to pray for discernment in guarding the minds of their children.
There are many forms of spiritual darkness that are operating in this world, and they have been so habitually ingrained within pop culture (i.e., music, television, games, etc.) that they appear benign. This is done intentionally as a means of darkening people’s minds and keeping them spiritually asleep.
1 John 2:18– “Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.”
2 Corinthians 4: 4-6
“4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.“
The example that God emphasized in my dream was that of some fantasy playing cards.
There are fantasy playing cards and games that are extremely demonic. The cards act as a medium/point of contact, and possession of the cards allows for the dark spirits and powers associated with the game to influence, and in some cases even totally possess, individuals that play. When ‘uncovered’ and exposed to elements belonging to dark powers, the human spirit can be oppressed by those powers, and even transported to dark dimensions. This happens when demonic entities are given the ‘legal right’ to do so. From a ‘spiritual-legal’ perspective: when we engage with the content (in other words, in the domain) of demonic spirits, functionally, we can become their ‘property’. At the very least, they have the right to act as an influence in our lives. It is the responsibility of parents, especially fathers, to ‘cover’ their children spiritually.
Proverbs 22:6- “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Colossians 1:13- “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”
What I am discussing can sound strange and extreme to those naïve to spiritual realities, but such things are not perceived with physical eyes.
Ephesians 6:12-
“12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
There are games that have themes that typically aren’t considered appropriate for children, such as extreme violence and sexually suggestive content. These are usually easily identified and kept away from children. However, there are several demonic games that are packaged in the form of colorful cartoons and fantastical adventure stories, designed to corrupt the imaginations of the young. Without discernment regarding the games, music, and television that your children consume… the minds of your children can be consumed.
It is interesting to note that many such fantasy games (for example, Pokémon) have storylines detailing children discovering their purpose, going on long journeys, and fighting dangerous battles, all while conspicuously omitting the presence of any parental figures. This may not seem problematic; however, the issue is with the dark intent of the spirits behind many of these games. Often, the intent is to desensitize the child to evil, and to give room for the spirit of rebellion.
Let me clarify: Does this mean that every child who owns such cards will be possessed or rebellious? No. However, a child does not have to be totally possessed, only subtly influenced. And God is using the fantasy cards as an example to warn parents not to use the ‘fun’ or ‘colorful’ presentation of content as the means of judging it’s potential impact on their children. Parents should pray for discernment and vigilance when guarding the eyes and hearts of their young.
Proverbs 4:23- “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
God loves our children, and we have the responsibility of partnering with him in guarding their innocence. In everything, even entertainment, we should teach them to follow Jesus.
Psalm 127:3– “See, children are a gift from the Lord. The children born to us are our special reward.”
Mark 9:42- “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck.”
John 8:12- “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Prayer:
Dear Father, thank you for loving us and thank you for loving our children. Give us discernment and self-control as we choose our entertainment and help us to guard the minds of children. You are the light of this world, please shine through us. Please open the eyes of those who don’t yet know you. We love you, amen.
Jonah 4:9-11–
“9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
Ephesians 5:8- “ For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”
Luke 1: 78-79- “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
