Let’s recap and roll through the cast of characters, the who’s who, in the three falls of man, and see if we can identify who is the baddie.

First, Adam and Eve lose paradise by allowing the whisper of a demon to enter their thoughts. This is the “shiny one,” the tempter, the accuser. A demon guides her actions by suggestion, planting thoughts and deceiving her about who and what God is. Who is the enemy here?

A spirit. A bad one.

Next, Cain lets sin master him, being told that “sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it.” But he submits to that demon by not battling it, not ruling over it. This is the first mention of the word sin in Genesis, and we think of it as an action we take. But consider this way of thinking about the word sin:

This description of sin is striking. The Hebrew word translated as “crouching” in Genesis 4:7 can indicate lying down, as in resting, but also refers to lying in wait like a predator lurking for its prey. The same verb is associated with an ancient Semitic term for demons that were believed to guard entrances or doorways to buildings. Thus, the text characterizes sin as a demonic presence or a predatory animal waiting to pounce on Cain.

So in the second fall, who is the enemy?

A spirit. A bad one.

Then we get to Babel, which means “Gate to God.” The nations already exist in chapter 10 of Genesis. But in a few places in the Old Testament, we learn that each nation has its own ruling spirit, that God has assigned angels or demons to the nations. Divine beings exist, literally called “sons of God,” also called members of the divine assembly. These creatures are assigned to oversee the nations. But these spiritual “sons of God” are creatures like us, with intellect and free will but not bodies. What seems to happen is that the creatures become the “local gods.” Humans begin to offer worship to these gods instead of the real God, God Most High.

The tower is a ziggurat, which is a holy place where pagan gods are worshipped. And just who are the pagan gods? They are not God. They are idols. I would have believed that they are figments of the imagination, but Jesus seems to imply, repeatedly, that these ruling demons are real. These fallen spirits are overseers employed by God to watch the nations. Somewhere along the way, people rejected God, and started worshipping the overseers. Worse yet, the overseers starting accepting worship from humans, and also rejected God. After all, they are under the same Commandments as we are.

The Gate at Babel is not meant to send humans up to heaven, it’s meant to pull God down from heaven. But in Babel, the people have been tricked. The watcher, the guardian, has become a fox in the henhouse. The nations have been duped by egotistical fallen angels who crave worship. The Tower is built to these demons, not God. Humans that build towers to anything but God Most High have been sucked into a power play, fooled by vending machine gods. And thus the being set to guard and watch the nation has become corrupt itself. He or she or it has fooled the rulers into idol worship. Who is at fault once again?

A spirit.

A bad one.

Not only can we be fooled by spirits at an individual level, but we can as well at the group level. Trying to replace God, usurp God, or disobey God at any level leads to division and strife. This is the daily battle for ourselves, and for the nations that we occupy.

The war that we are in is not against other people. It’s not even against other nations. It’s against spirits. Other people are not the enemy. This will come as a shock to internet users. The real enemy of Democrats is not Republicans, and vice versa. If you understand this properly, it may open a door to understanding suffering, understanding the state of our world, and understanding Jesus.

Observe in the Gospel how Jesus reacts to those who treat him terribly.

If someone attempted to kill me, I would probably get upset. But Jesus does not get angry at the people that try to throw him off a cliff. Nor does he get angry at the soldier who punches him or the plural soldiers that scourge him. All of the mockery? He just takes it. The cruelty pours over him like water and he utters not a word in self-defense.

Why?

Because these people are the lost sheep. They are the ones fallen into ditches and ravines. Under a constant spiritual attack they struggle, but their time has not yet come to ask for help. The shiny one is whispering in their ear. Sin is crouching at their door. A false idol has their attention. They don’t recognize Jesus right in front of them, but he is inviting them to see him. In other words, all of these people need saving. Jesus is here to save them. That’s why he doesn’t get angry at them.

He shows us how to save people. It’s not by competing with the cruelty of others, returning jab for jab, wound for wound. He shows us another way. By not competing, he appears to be losing, but he is winning for us all, and showing us how to win.

Those throwing insults are the ones following the advice of the demons. Jesus points the way for us on how to opt out, how to to reject their game, how to cancel our subscription to the whispers. He doesn’t lash out at the demoniacs, he doesn’t lash out at those who beat him, he doesn’t lash out at those who mock him.

However, he does lash out at those who reserve God for themselves, who block the “little ones” from coming to him, and who, in Peter’s case, try to impede his path to the Cross. Of all people, he lashes out most at the Pharisees, and he tells us why they are scolded. He holds them to a higher standard because:

“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” (Lk 12:48)

His sustained anger at the Pharisees suggests that they have been entrusted with much, but they have failed to live up to the demands. This is a bit terrifying to read. Anyone who lives in comfort today should read this “given much” phrase and immediately see themselves as the recipient of much. If you have a house, you have much. If you have a refrigerator full of food, you have much. If you have faith, you have everything. And if you have faith, “more will be demanded” because you have been blessed with a gift like no other.

Jesus expects that those with the gift of faith will give that gift away, because it is a bottomless gift that keeps giving, like the basket in the story of the loaves and fishes. However, if you hold the gift of faith to yourself, then it is pride and greed that do you in. The whisper of righteousness is coming from a spirit, and you are not fighting back. If you have the gift of faith, then you are a warrior intended to help turn the tide back toward God in this long saga of salvation history. In our small role in the great war, we all have a part, and the only weapon we need. Faith can guide free will to the right place. We are the gatekeepers of our thoughts and must slam the gate shut when evil attempts to enter. If the evil thoughts have already breached the castle walls, then you have to turn to God, pray to heaven, and fight off hell to re-take the castle. This is another great trick of the devil. He takes several angles at defeating us, like an army testing the lines of the enemy, checking for the weakest spot. First, he tells us that demons don’t exist. Next, he’ll tell you that your desire is not really a sin, but a culture of oppression or a phobia invented by man. Then he convinces us that we are “born this way” and helpless to our sins. Worse, he will throw Bible verses at us, and you can see plenty of Christian preachers today acting as his puppets, advocating for the sins of pride, greed, sodomy, adultery, lust, and sloth.

The demons are real. God allows us to be tempted. That is our test, to stand up to them and keep our eyes fixed on Christ.

St. John of Damascus reminded us long ago that we are not helpless in this battle.

But while the liberty to attack man has been granted to them, they have not the strength to over master any one: for we have it in our power to receive or not to receive the attack. (De Fide Orthadoxa, Book 2, Chapter 4.)

It is always worth repeating the question: Why did Peter sink? We know why. He looked away.

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