As spiritual warfare reaches a fever pitch in every aspect of American culture, Christians must arm themselves with wisdom and discernment or else the enemy will succeed in his attempts at deceiving them.
Satan’s tactics of deception have disarmed many Christians over the course of centuries, and it is imperative to be equipped with the full armor of God to combat these attempts at destroying human life.
If successful, Christians will witness events such as the tragedy that struck the Vallow family.
As Charisma News reported, Lori Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, were accused of murdering their two children, 7-year-old Joshua “J.J.” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, along with Chad’s ex-wife, 49-year-old Tammy Daybell, and also charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception.
Now, Vallow’s courtroom journey is at an end as she was convicted of murdering her two children and of conspiracy to murder her husband’s first wife almost four years ago.
Yet this tale of woe reveals America’s refusal to see the spiritual influence and control demons have in society today.
While the prosecution believed that the causation for this story lay in the physical temptations that led Daybell and Vallow to commit atrocious acts, they fail to recognize that the root origin of these sins lays in the spiritual realm.
“We told you this was about money, power and sex. We talked about religion, but this was not about religion. This was about money, power and sex,” prosecutor Rob Wood said Thursday in his closing statements.
All of these reasons Wood lists stem from spiritual forces influencing Daybell, who had already opened himself up to demonic influence with his doomsday, anti-biblical writings, and Vallow, who was seduced by Daybell’s books about end times.
As reported by Fox News, “They referred to each other as biblical figures named James and Elena and discussed their beliefs that people can have light or dark spirits—some so dark that they could be considered zombies.
“Lori wants to tell you how much she loves Jesus. … But is she a leader or follower? She’s not leading anyone. She’s a follower of Chad,” defense attorney Jim Archibald said Thursday in closing statements. “She thinks Chad is a follower of Jesus. But he’s not. He’s a follower of the storm.”
These are not the beliefs, strategies or plans of someone merely looking for fulfillments of the flesh. These are the statements of people who are under severe demonic oppression and torture. It led them to make the decision to commit multiple murders and continue living their lives as though nothing happened, the same form of demonic oppression and deliverance presented in the recent movie, Come Out In Jesus Name.
Yes, Vallow is ultimately responsible for her actions, as every human being is, but Christians are not called to ignore demonic influence and control in society, they are to cast it out and set those in bondage free in the name of Jesus.
The oppression Vallow was under was stifling, an oppression that she opened herself up to, revealing the power that the spiritual realm holds over the physical.
This case leaves only death and the destruction of several families in its wake. That was Satan’s goal, and sadly, he accomplished it.
God can take what Satan meant for evil and turn it for good. This story can serve as a lesson for Christians to become aware of how entrenched the world is in spiritual warfare.
Healing can come to the families affected by this senseless tragedy. If the chains of bondage were to be broken, Chad Daybell and Lord Vallow could thwart the enemy’s plans by repenting for the heinous crimes and truly enter a relationship with Jesus Christ, not the false iteration they were deceived into following.
James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
