The boy screeched howling and yowling, “Lucifer is my king” facing the sky. He scratched the floor as hard as a wolf leaving the prints of claws as though of X-Men, yet not a scrape on his fingers or nails. He yelled in hoot and holler, bumping and thumping the floor and the wall whenever the name of Jesus was uttered. He growled and roared as an injured lion at the counsellors when he heard them chanted in tears, “Jesus loves you.” A counsellor drew closer to pat him to appease him and to tell him it is okay but he hit his hands off to make it clear he don’t want love and care. He anathematized Jesus with all possible foul languages, denouncing and cursing the very person who will deliver him in a few hours from horror.
His body rigid and strong, his spirit unyielding, his will unwavering, his emotions wounding, his language profaning, his eyes horrifying, he went down to his knees in tears moaning and groaning. Before long he squawked, “Lucifer, help me. Give me back my powers” smashing the floor with both his hands repeatedly. Lucifer never turned up for the rescue. Lucifer cannot because God, Most High arrested the boy with His power to set him free from the clutches of darkness. The ambiance was bloodcurdling but thanks to the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit that hovered and soaked the soul of the elect with faith and courage. The boy was delivered in the mighty name of Jesus.
This paranormal phenomenon was eerie and spine-chilling. It smashed my skeptical sense. It gave me a new perspective on the realities of Satan in our land. This write up does not aspire to give exhaustive details on different aspects of Satanism, not even in aspects which it addresses below. The ambit is to give the readers a bird’s eye view of Satanism in our land till date.
The Crisis
It is no juvenile’s prank to burn the bible, eat raw meat, sneak out naked at midnight enchanting hocus-pocus. It is no teenage gang’s game to curse Jesus and knelt with tears to call on Lucifer and demons to come for help when no one is abusing him physically not even verbally but just praying for him, telling him about the love of God. The prayer warriors are not misguided to tell the public it is the work of Satan when they see young teenage girls challenging them in the name of Lucifer, ridiculing and mimicking their prayers. It is no unstable emotions or psychic disorder when the eyes of the boy turn devilish red out of the blue while praying making wacky groans and moans, other times crawling and rolling on the floor chanting the name of Lucifer (nobody pushed him), or collapse with foams all over his mouth during praise and worship, who has no history of epilepsy whatsoever. It is no overreaction to a normal spiritual phenom when a girl starts speaking in a heavy tone referring to herself in third person (I will kill her) and guffaws at the sight of the bible and screams at counsellors to shut up and not to take the Name of Jesus.
The above events happened in real time. The reality of Satanism in Nagaland is nailed when former Satanists daringly testified their experience with the horror. It is a crisis in the church, a doom-laden for the clergy, and depravity at its zenith in the young souls of our land. It is no hoax that Satanism has invaded our land.
The Cause
Every Satanist has a personal reason when probed on why they get into this morbid trend. I sympathized with this girl when she told me her sorry tale. She adopted Satanism because she couldn’t stand the miseries of her family. Her elder brother was an abusive chronic alcoholic. In addition she felt rejected and unloved by her siblings and parents. Long story short, she was desperate for a panacea to all her family chaos. At the end of her tether she embraced Satanism so as to gain power from Satan to put an end to her misery. This sob story covers the major aspects of why and the wherefores of the horror among youngsters.
First, the family crisis, a former Satanist told me that family crisis; being unloved, abused and rejected in family is one main cause. Second, she had supernatural fantasy and hankering. She wanted and craved for power. This desire for power is usually created because of ghoulish and power games in gadgets and certain animated shows on television. Third, she desired a devilish delight. She sought for a diabolical favour. These favours can range from money, fame, power and anything. She allowed the devil to solve her problem in return sold her soul to him.
The Contract
A person is initiated into Satanism with a contract. On mutual accord between the person and Satan, the covenant is cut. It can be done in diverse ways. Three prominent methods found in Nagaland are: First, the person has to cut himself/herself and pour his/her own blood in places where the devil tells him/her to. Second, the devil shows certain symbols with meaning to be tattooed to the body. This is known as the Tattoo Covenant. Third, the devil demands the person to sign on certain things and enchant certain demonic creed.
Once the contract is done, the Devil assigns certain demons to the Satanist according to desire or demand, it depends. The demons work for the Satanist. The Satanist uses the demons in the form of spell, charm and power. There are also ranks and clans in Satanism. The prominent clans in Nagaland are werewolf and vampire (it is not like the ones you see in media, it is spiritual). I am yet to see a clear ranking among the Satanist in our land.
The Cure
There is only one cure for the Satanist. The person has to repent and renounce Satan and his demons. He/she needs to confess his/her sins and come to Jesus to be cleansed by His blood. That being done, the prayer of the believers in Jesus Name is needed for complete deliverance. This is where it gets messy and manifestation of all sorts comes. The demons won’t leave easy until they are exorcised in Jesus name.
The Caution
- Do not say it is not happening when it is.
- Do not blame it all on the clergy and church when the devil is at work.
- Do not claim that the people of your Tribe or Denomination are not involved when all are in it.
- Do not spread rumours on hearsay and escalate the chaos when it already is.
- Do not allege Satan is exalted when a person talks about Satanism when the men of God are at work to demolish demons.
- Do not label all demon-possessed as Satanist when they are not.
The Care
The cliché applies, “prevention is better than cure.” We couldn’t prevent the past but we sure can for the present and the future. It should start from our family. Show love and practice love in the family. The church should take care of its flocks. Practice care for the lost and weary in the house of God. The clergy should serve to save the sheep. Sound teaching and prayer can guard the soul.
Equal or more love, care, and service should be given to both present and former Satanist. They shouldn’t be shunned in church or stigmatized in the society instead, soak them with the love of God. Our love can loosen them, our care can cure them and our service can save them. When Satanism is real in our land, the best we can do is to love, care and serve with the power of God. This love, care, and service has to be across culture, tribe, and denomination.
