Some of the most interesting feedback from readers of my first book came from friends who knew my experience and wanted to hear more. So I have begun to write more here. The message is simple. GOD IS REAL.
What we saw was beyond anything I ever could have imagined
witnessing with my own eyes. Real-life horror unfolded before us during our
trek down to the railroad tracks in Central City, Kentucky. A typical Saturday of sharing the good news of the gospel ended in an event I
will never forget – one that left me with zero doubt about the existence of a
supernatural realm that is beyond what we generally see with the naked eye. My
husband Lee (who I was not yet married to at the time), and I, along with our
friend Danny, approached a very unusual home that wintry, Saturday
afternoon, wishing to tell someone about Jesus and to perhaps invite them to
church. We were young, zealous evangelists, marching house to house every
week, speaking to and praying for anyone who would give us the time of day.
The home we approached that unforgettable day was strange in
many regards. The structure was small and was made entirely of concrete block
walls. There was no siding on the starkly plain house which sat next to the
railroad tracks at the end of a sleepy street. The only features that would
indicate the building was a residence was the placement of the front door and
the fact that there appeared to be a light on inside. Lee knocked on the door
as Danny and I stood to the side. An older looking man of mid-sized stature
answered the door and mumbled something that indicated he wanted to know the
reason for our visit. He did not look at us directly.
One of us said something like, “We are out telling people
about Jesus.”
He invited us in, and we naively accepted. As soon as we
stepped inside, I noticed that all the furniture was turned backwards toward
the walls, which were lacking any drywall, paint, or covering. Like the
exterior, the inside walls were simply exposed concrete block. As I
recall, there was a chair, a couch, and a small television, all facing the
walls. The television, however, was turned in such a way that we could see that
its small screen was not displaying a picture, but rather a snowy background
like televisions not tuned in or hooked up to cable. I also noticed numerous
cockroaches crawling on the walls and in the corners.
When we circled back around, the man was standing with his right
hand on the door knob. He had closed the door, and there we stood facing him.
Everything after that happened pretty quickly, and I don’t recall all that was
said. Lee and I did most of the talking, restating our reason for being there.
In the meantime, we got a solid glimpse of the man’s eyes. They had no pupils
and no irises. Rather, they were a cloudy shade of blue. In other words, his
entire eyeball on either side had the appearance of a blue sky marked with a
hint of thin cloud coverage. A cataract can cause a person’s lens to become cloudy, but
the cloudiness in his eyes was not limited to the lens; it covered the entire
eye. I have researched hundreds of pictures of cloudy eyes, but have never seen
anything like what we saw in this man’s eyes.
After Lee briefly explained our mission and our desire to
tell people about Jesus, the man made one gruff statement that was clearer than all
the others. He said, “I talk to Jesus every day.” Then he said this, “I am the
prince of this area.”
We had enough spiritual discernment to know that there was
something sinister in our midst. In fact, our friend Danny was particularly
shaken by the incident. I began to pray, but I mostly stared at the man’s hand
on the doorknob, hoping he would soon open the door and let us out.
Jesus refers to Satan in John 14:30 as “the prince of this
world.” Likewise, the book of Daniel refers to demonic entities as princes. In
the case of Daniel’s account, the writer is not referring to Satan himself, but
to a demonic entity of lower rank, calling him the “prince of the kingdom of
Persia.” (Daniel 10:13) We know from scripture that there is a hierarchy of
demonic entities, which Ephesians 6:12 describes in this way: “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.”
Was this man a physical representation of a “prince” of darkness? Or was he
simply claiming to be one? Was he a demon-possessed person or simply a
psychiatric case? Or was he something altogether different?
We eventually made clear our readiness to leave, and the man opened the
door for us to exit. On our way out, he attempted to hand Lee a ragged one-dollar
bill, which Lee declined, telling the man he could put it in the offering plate
when he comes to church.
After leaving, we concluded that we were probably dealing with a
demon-possessed person. We had experienced demon-possessed people in other settings,
so we decided to fast and pray all week, determined to return and cast the
demon out of him. By the next Saturday we were ready, although I recall
approaching his home by the tracks with at least some reservation. On foot, we
made our way down the street, approached the concrete block structure, and
could not believe our eyes as we drew closer. We peered into the window that
separated the exterior of the house from the room we had stood in just a week
before. We did not see the backwards couch or chair, or the snowy television.
We did not see the kitchen table and chairs which had also been part of the
furnishings the previous Saturday. Nor did we see the unusual man. Instead, we
stood looking at a room that was stacked from floor to ceiling with cardboard
boxes. The boxes were covered in dust and cobwebs. Well-formed cobwebs cluttered
the corners of the room where the walls met the ceiling. In other words, the
concrete building had been serving as a storage facility for a long time – long
enough to form layers of dust and cobwebs which would have taken months to
materialize.
What is my point in sharing this story? First, there is a
realm or dimension of existence that is beyond what we can see and feel, and
yet it is just as real as the one we are most acquainted with on a daily basis.
Secondly, our battles are not with each other, but with demonic powers which we
cannot see. Thirdly, through Christ, we have authority over those powers. Jesus
said it like this: “I have given you all authority to trample on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means
harm you.” (Luke 10:19)
I don't know all the reasons we had the experience that we did, but I
do know that when believers rise up with the prayer-filled desire to establish
God’s kingdom, unusual manifestations will occasionally take place, sometimes
of a demonic nature, but often as an angelic one (more on that at a later time). God opens our spiritual eyes and allows us to see things as they
really are, especially when we are not asleep spiritually. He is constantly training
and teaching, always preparing His followers for things to come. Ephesians 1:3 states that believers are "seated in heavenly places in Christ." Therefore, we do not need to fear anything that comes our way. This is one thing that must be settled in our hearts in the coming days. The light
inside of me and the light inside others who have truly made Jesus the Lord and
Savior of their lives is the very power that holds back the darkness in this
world. And that light is Jesus.
