The World is a Vampire

A popular song in the 1990s began, "The world is a vampire sent to drain: Secret destroyers holding you up to the flame." It is an angry song that seems to be lashing out at Christianity. It ends sadly, the lyrics repeating, "And I still believe that I cannot be saved."

There is truth in the song's beginnings. The world does drain us. Why? The whole world is under the control of the enemy. God and evil don't mix. The Apostle John explains in 1 John 5:19, "We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." (emphasis mine) As long as we are here, we will have to be mindful not to team up with the world, or its ruler.

The Apostle Paul also understood that we need to watch out for the weakening of our souls by the world. He tells us in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world." In Ephesians 2, he says that we were all once "dead in trespasses and sins" when we were following the course of this world. He recognized that Christians need to separate themselves from evil influences if we are going to live a healthy spiritual life.

But apostles weren't the only ones to warn us. Jesus is in Heaven now, at the right hand of God, interceding for us. But He also prayed for us while He was on earth. The caring words of our Savior praying to the Father for us are recorded in the book of John:

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

(John 17:14-16). 

Jesus also prayed specifically against the attack of Satan on Peter in Luke 22:31, 32. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Why did Jesus pray for Peter? Because even though Peter was handpicked by Jesus, he was still walking the earth and was subject to the powers of the prince of the air, the enemy. Jesus knew that Peter would succumb to the influences of the world and its ruler.

So the world is, undeniably, a vampire. But the writer of our rock song was wrong at the end. He can be saved. We can be saved. The Bible tells us over and over that we can be. Perhaps the songwriter knew that. But why did he believe he couldn't be saved? 

We have established that the world is under the control of God’s enemy, satan. In Revelation 12:10, John calls him the "accuser of the brethren." And he loves to accuse us, to whisper lies in our ears. He loves to tell us that God doesn't love us, that we are not good enough, that we are going to fail, that we cannot be saved. Do you ever hear the voices? Sometimes they are whispers, and sometimes they are screams. Demons, the “secret destroyers” in the song, don't like you. There is no love in them at all. They don't even like their boss. They are miserable, and they want us to be miserable. 

Demons cannot be saved, and they don't want us to be saved, either.  

We can be saved from sin and hell if we confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior and believe in Him. That's the big one, the main reason Jesus came to earth and died for us. It's the salvation we talk about the most, but it is not the only thing. We still need to be saved (or protected, if you will) from danger, attack, confusion, enmity, hatred, the list goes on.

I have been asking myself lately how the world is draining me, and I'm getting different answers. Yesterday it was busyness. Today it is a different distraction. Tomorrow it could be laziness. I don't know. But I do know that Jesus has prayed for me! He prayed for me that I would not give in to this world even as I walk through it. And I know that He prays for me now. 

When the vampire that is the world has seemingly emptied my blood, my life force, I know that my Redeemer lives (Job 19:25)! Even so, there are times when I think He is late in saving me from the world. It can feel so lonely. It can be so frustrating. Fighting vampires is not easy. But because I love Him and trust Him, I have to believe that He is near. I know not only that He has redeemed my soul but also that He will redeem my circumstances.

The next time the world looms over you and tries to drain you, remember something vampires can't endure: crosses. But our Jesus conquered even the cross. How? It wasn’t because He allowed his blood to be drained. He spilled it willingly for you and me.