On the Los Angeles Fires

On the Los Angeles Fires
Saturday, January 11, 2025 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Contemporary issues / Spiritual warfare / The church / Thought for Today

Please pray for Los Angeles. I’ve seen many, many posts on social media over the last few days. Most have a common theme: the fires are God’s judgment on godless Hollywood and Los Angeles, and they are getting what they deserve. Does Hollywood mock God? Yes. Did the emcee at the Golden Globes awards a week ago mock God? Yes.

But, is that the underlying issue as so many insist? No. Here’s the problem: we all deserve Hell. There are zero exceptions. As Scripture states, all have sinned, all fall short. All means all.

There’s something I didn’t see anyone mentioning, no one. And it is the underlying biblical reality, the real issue:

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV): “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Do we understand that? Do we get that? Demonic spiritual forces are the issue, not people. Why then, do we look at those who are doing evil things and blame them?

Think of the ramifications of 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NASB): “… we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

The verse speaks of God and His eternal realm. But what is also “unseen”? The entire spiritual realm is unseen, including the demonic. By focusing on what is seen, for example Hollywood, we miss what is spiritually going on, Satan’s warfare against God. Those in Hollywood are pawns, unknowing pawns used and taken advantage of by Satan. How do we know that?

2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV): “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

In terms of the spiritual realm, the issue isn’t the Hollywood elites, or those who have “sold their souls” as it were. The issue is the god of this world, Satan. Those following him, those doing things that line up with Satan’s agenda are blinded by him. Even those who “knowingly” follow after him don’t truly understand or know what they are doing. The reality is that they are on the highway to Hell.

Do we understand that all who die in the LA fires, unless having come to faith in Christ, are eternally lost?

Wouldn’t it be better for us, as Christians, to intercede, to pray that God opens the eyes of the blind, that those who have been caught up doing evil, would repent and that God would break Satan’s stronghold over Los Angeles?

How many people living in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, or other fire-ravaged places, think life in this world is all there is? They believe they’ve lost everything they possess. Pray that they come to realize that life in this world isn’t the end. Pray that God wakes them up.

Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26, NASB)

Does our wagging fingers help? No. Isn’t that more in line with what the Pharisees would do? Isn’t that, at this point, more along the lines of what Satan would wish for, for us to do things that drive them even further away from Christ? Now, more than ever, they need to see the compassion and genuine love of Jesus Christ, His love shown through His people. Perhaps, with all that is happening, they’d be open to eternal reality.

Please pray and intercede for those in Los Angeles and Hollywood. They need Jesus!

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