Hackers, Fraudsters, Demons

My phone has been ringing more than usual. A little routine has been established between myself and the callers:

*Rings*

Me: Hello?

*Pause*

*Indian accent* Yes hello there, sir. It is Ramesh calling from Sky. I notice your internet connection is very slow and I am here to fix it.

Me: But I don’t have Sky.

*Hangs up.

These fraudsters are too thick to cross off my number, and call 3-4 times daily with the same perfidious tale. Yesterday, I allowed them to take me a step further, as I was curious to see what method their duplicitous intentions would employ. They attempted to install a program onto my laptop which would enable them to take control of it. At that point, they obtain passwords, documents, and can then install ransomware. Clever. Knowing how many of us complain about our broadband speed, someone phoning from an Indian call centre offering to look into it sounds perfectly plausible. As a rule of thumb, no internet service provider offers to fix our connectivity or download speed unless we first complain. Yet this whole scam depends on the victim providing the fraudster with access, something he doesn’t automatically have. 

When Satan first appeared in Eden, he could not force Eve and Adam to rebel against God. Rather, he beguiled, tempted, whispered. He phones her up, offering something seemingly desirable but unnecessary, and she grants him access to her heart and will. Once in, it’s hard to get his influence and corruption out.

The Bible teaches that some people’s bodies are inhabited by demons, using such terms as demonised or possessed. Before I proceed, let me be clear on two points: I don’t think Christians can be possessed by demons; the Holy Spirit does not flat-share with dirty squatters. Secondly, there is less chance of meeting demons today than there was in the first century when the scriptures were written (I'll cover this one later).

If we take Judas as a point in question, we read ‘Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him’ (John 13:27). Yet he had consistently thieved from the money box (John 12:6) before this event. This may indicate that habitual, wilful sin makes one more susceptible to demonic power, though Judas Iscariot may not be typical. Deuteronomy 32:17 says:

They sacrificed to demons, not to God,

To gods they did not know,

To new gods, new arrivals

That your fathers did not fear.

Idols are either blocks of mere wood or stone, the worship of which is foolish and a waste of time, or they are associated with demonic entities who enjoy receiving that adulation. Possibly, worshipping of demons may open up doorways for them to take control over the worshippers. The Bible does not give clear explanations of how this occurs; naturally, it prefers to explain how a sinner can receive Christ and be controlled and subject to his Spirit. Yet it seems to me that evil spirits cannot freely enter territory not their own; ‘Legion’ of Mark 5 sought permission to enter the swine, and Satan requires God’s permission to affect Job. Perhaps idolaters and habitual sinners keep the doors of their hearts too wide open, so that evil, crouching by, steals inside and establishes a household.

Some will disagree with me on these points, though the Bible offers so little information, any views will be limited or subjective. Rather, we must further seek to better claim Peter’s description of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, whilst guarding against hackers and fraudsters, physical or otherwise:

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2)

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