By Steve Wohlberg

“I’m the world’s most dangerous predator. Everything about me invites you in. My voice, my face, even my smell… I’m designed to kill… I wanted to kill you. I’ve never wanted a human’s blood so much in my life… Your scent, it’s like a drug to me. You’re like my own personal brand of heroin.”

So says the handsome vampire, Edward Cullen, to his star-struck 17-year-old lover, Bella Swan, in the hit movie Twilight, now the rage of teenagers the world over. What is Twilight about anyway? Is it simply harmless entertainment, or does something sinister lurk behind the scenes waiting to bite you?

You’re about to find out.

It all started one dark night – June 1, 2003 to be exact – when a virtually unknown Arizona stay-at-home mom named Stephenie Meyer had a strange dream. On her own official website, Meyer testifies,

I woke up (on that June 2nd) from a very vivid dream. In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that A) they were falling in love with each other while B) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately (1).

This unusual dream was so compelling that when Meyer awoke “she wrote like a woman struck by lightning” (2). Perching herself before her computer, she feverishly typed out what she had just “seen” in her dream. Based on Meyer’s own report, the entire experience seemed to have a mysterious, almost supernatural quality to it. After being obsessively driven to type page after page, she later reflected:

All this time, Bella and Edward were, quite literally, voices in my head. They simply wouldn’t shut up. I’d stay up as late as I could stand trying to get all the stuff in my mind typed out, and then crawl, exhausted, into bed… only to have another conversation start in my head. I hated to lose anything by forgetting, so I’d get up and head back down to the computer (3).

Meyer admits that at this point in her life she was a novice writer with no experience in getting a book published. When the essential story, based on her dream, was mostly completed, she did a Google search to learn what to do next. Eventually, she sent 15 copies of her manuscript to potential interests and, to her utter amazement, quickly landed a huge deal with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, one of the biggest young adult publishers in America. With increased motivation, she kept typing, typing, and typing until a tantalizing 4-part sequence of fictitious vampire romances was completed.

The entire series is called The Twilight Saga, and at this moment, it’s bigger than Harry Potter. The titles of all four books are:

Twilight (Book One)

New Moon (Book Two)

Eclipse (Book Three)

Breaking Dawn (Book Four)

Because each novel shot off the press as an immediate bestseller (the first three sat Number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list for 137 weeks), Summit Entertainment took a chance and made Book One into a movie, to test the waters. They didn’t have long to wait. During its opening weekend of November 21-23, 2008, Twilight grossed nearly 70 million dollars. By April of 2009, it had netted nearly $380 million worldwide and over $127M in DVD sales. Yet Twilight fever had just begun. By the time you read this, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn may have already hit theatres worldwide. The dollars keep rolling in. Needless to say, Stephenie Meyer (an observant Mormon, married, with three sons) is no longer your typical Arizona housewife. Catapulted to global stardom, she’s been dubbed “the new queen of fantasy” (5) whose vampire-romances have become the juggernaut of this generation.

The Twilight Saga Storyline

Twilight launches with the budding romance between Bella Swan (a normal human) and Edward Cullen, her 108-year-old vampire lover. The setting is rural Forks, Washington (a real town), in the western part of the state. When Bella first spied Edward sitting at a table inside the cafeteria of Forks High School (a real school), she was irresistibly drawn to him. As their relationship develops Bella discovers that her unusual new boyfriend belongs to a chic vampire family whose members live, not in coffins, or in a creepy shack surrounded by bats and a moat, but in a splendidly built, vaulted ceiling, contemporary home. Yes, the Cullen’s are all vampires, but good ones. They’re vegetarians too, that is, they’ve renounced human blood (although they are still tempted by its sight and scent) and subsist only on the blood of animals.

Vastly different from Bella Lugosi’s stereotypical creatures of the night, the Cullens walk around like normal folks during daylight hours, drive cars (Edward drives a silver Volvo S60R), hold jobs, and can handle some sunlight. They’re expert baseball players, too. Fiercely loyal to their clan (or coven), they often act unselfishly, and above all, are tantalizingly supernatural. Edward reads minds, climbs trees faster than Spiderman, and exhibits superhuman strength that he often uses to protect Bella.

As the plot thickens, evil characters emerge. There are not only good vampires, but nasty ones too, who hunt for human blood, including Bella’s. Jacob Black, one of Bella’s friends, is a member of the Quileute Indian tribe (a real western Washington tribe whose legends Meyer researched and makes use of) and turns out to be a werewolf. As thrills build, blood flows. A coven of evil vampires murder humans, vampires battle vampires, werewolves kill vampires, werewolves fight werewolves, and so forth, all in the context of a Romeo-and-Juliet type of love affair between a mortal teenager and her immortal Prince Charming with sharp teeth.

In Breaking Dawn (Book Four), Bella finally marries Edward, and they have a daughter named Reneseme; but because giving birth to a half-vampire half-human baby is so traumatic, Bella almost dies. To save her from death, Edward finally sinks his teeth into her (for the first time) and turns her into a vampire to give her an immortal existence, which is what Bella always wanted him to do anyway. As the saga nears completion, Reneseme is targeted, hunted and nearly executed by the mysterious Volturi (a secret vampire police force dedicated to hiding the existence of vampires from humans) because they see her as a threat. After being convinced that she really isn’t, the Volturi leave her alone, and the family finally settles down in the quiet town of Forks, Washington, to live “happily ever after,” literally. As vampires, they never die.

That’s Twilight in a nutshell. It’s a story of love, lust, vampires, werewolves, good, evil, mortality, immortality, and blood; yes definitely, blood, and the craving for it as the sweetest drink of all. If you’re a Twilighter, hopefully you are thinking at this point, Fair enough…so what’s the problem? Its just fiction!

There’s more to this subject than meets bloodshot eyes.

Fiction Fuels Reality

First of all, most fiction is not just fiction, and this is certainly true of Twilight. Fantasy aside, fiction still communicates ideas, values, and messages, and these in turn, affect the day-to-day activities of readers and movie watchers. Throughout The Twilight Saga, both Edward and his family, and some werewolves too, are depicted as living absolutely awesome, exciting lives. The “coolest” thing is that they all have specials powers beyond average mortals. It is this lure of power, and the promise of it, that tempts real teenagers and adults today to explore the mysterious world of occultism.

They’re doing it now, in record numbers.

TV series and Hollywood movies like Bewitched, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Craft, Practical Magic, and of course, Harry Potter, have fueled interest in Wicca, magick, spells, and covens. In the same way, talking-to-the-dead productions like Medium, Ghost Whisperer, White Noise, and The Sixth Sense have not only generated hot interest in dialogue with the deceased, but professional mediums like John Edward, James Van Praagh, Sylvia Browne, and Allison Dubois (all New York Times bestselling authors) claim real abilities to help their clients do it.

How about vampirism and drinking blood? Believe it or not, just as sorcery shows have fueled interest in Wicca, potions, and covens, and just like ghostly movies are motivating millions to seek interaction with deceased relatives, even so is The Twilight Saga sparking interest in real vampirism.

That’s right, real vampirism. And Twilight isn’t the only one. Shows like True Blood are doing it too – big time.

True Blood is a wildly popular HBO TV series swirling around a passionate relationship between an attractive blond barmaid with telepathic powers (Sookie Stackhouse) and Vampire Bill who – Edward Cullen style – has reformed his diet to synthetic blood. Then there’s The CW Television Network’s The Vampire Diaries with its love affair between Elena, a gorgeous brunette, and the tall, dark, handsome Stefan – another vampire. In both True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, once again, the traditional stereotype of creepy, menacing bloodsuckers is given a facelift. The new vamps – Edward, Bill, and Stefan – aren’t bad guys at all. Instead, they’re thoughtful and conscientious. What’s more, they all have thrilling love affairs with beautiful women totally enamored by their manly features and mysterious personalities.

Thus Hollywood’s latest breed of guys with fangs have become tantalizingly attractive to real women who would love to sink their teeth into such a date. How awesome to have a vampire boyfriend! many young ladies fantasize. Guys are dreaming too, I’d love to be a vampire myself!

You should be able to guess the next step.

Interest in real vampirism is exploding.

Vampirism on the Rise

On December 7, 2008 – in the immediate wake of the theatrical success of the first Twilight film – Fox News Channel featured a special report on Hannity’s America entitled, Night Neighbors: Members Of America’s Vampire Subculture Could Be Living Right Under Your Nose. After a brief history lesson about Dracula and garlic, Sean Hannity surprisingly declared:

Now in this day and age it seems impossible that anyone can believe in this nonsense [real vampirism], but in pop culture vampires are making a comeback in a big way. The blockbuster movie, Twilight is setting box office records on the big screen, while HBO’s True Blood is heating up the small screen.

Now get this. Without skipping a beat, Hannity continued,

But vampires aren’t just tinsel town moneymakers, there’s actually a vampire subculture that exists in the United States right now and spreads into almost every community in this country (6).

Did you catch that? Sean Hannity reported that a real “vampire subculture” exists in America at this very moment “in almost every community in this country.” Surprisingly, he has his facts straight. His report also included an interview with Michelle Belanger, author of Vampires in their Own Words: An Anthology of Vampire Voices, whom he identified as “an expert in the vampire community.” “Needless to say,” Sean continued, “she considers herself a vampire.”

Again, this report came out two weeks after Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight film hit the big screen. Other mainstream media issued corresponding reports as well, such as The Washington Post in a November 24, 2008 piece entitled, A Vampire’s Life: It’s Really Draining (7). ABC News followed suit in an October 31 article provocatively called, Real Life Vampires: Who Are They? (8) All of these news reports were designed to inform a largely ignorant public about a very real “vampire community” now fully functioning in both the U.S. and around the world.

Do you believe me now?

Real vampirism has sprung out of the coffin.

Much of the information behind these media reports was provided by the newly formed (2005) Atlanta Vampire Alliance (A.V.A. for short), of which Michelle Belanger is an active member. Make no mistake about it. The A.V.A. is a real organization led by real people who consider themselves real vampires. The “Mission and FAQ” section of the A.V.A. website states,

We have clearly defined goals, projects, and activities that we both strive for and follow to completion. In addition to working with an assortment of members from our own community, we also consult with members of the media, law enforcement, clergy, and academia along with paranormalists, metaphysists, and those in related fields of interest to clarify the beliefs and viewpoints held by the majority of those who identify themselves as “real vampires”. (9)

Contemporary Vampire Beliefs and Practices

One of the most knowledgeable independent scholars of the current vampire craze is Joseph Laycock, author of Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampires (May 2009). In an attempt to make a complex subject simple, here are some basic facts that Laycock reveals. Real vampires (he says):

· Are very diverse in their beliefs and practices

· Come from all walks of life (nurses, doctors, lawyers, psychologists, entertainers, etc.)

· Identify themselves with many religions (there are “Christian vampires,” “Jewish vampires,” “Muslim vampires,” “Wiccan vampires,” “Gothic vampires,” “atheist vampires,” etc.)

· Believe they have an “energy deficit” and “need to feed on blood or energy to maintain their wellbeing”

· Fall into three general categories: 1) “sanguine vampires” who experience a “blood hunger” and actually drink real blood, 2) “psychic vampires” who feed only on “energy” they somehow mysteriously draw from other humans, 3) “hybrids” who are a bit of both

· Are further divided into two additional groups: 1) Those who seek to “supplement their diet” in “ethical” ways,” 2) Dangerous predators

Many vampire organizations, orders, covens, and houses are adamant that sanguine vampires should follow “safe feeding methods.” According to their public statements, such vampires should find willing “donors” who freely consent to supply their blood. It is also recommended that vampire and donor enter a verbal or written contract. For health reasons, the “donor” should take blood tests to make sure he or she is disease free. Sterilized instruments alone should be used. Sometimes only an ounce of blood per week is required to “meet the need.” To all outward appearances, your hospital nurse may be the last one you might expect to do such things. Yet, unknown to the physicians and medical staff, she might be a real vampire who secretly drinks small amounts of blood when no one is looking.

Now you know about “ethical vampirism.” Yet a darker side exists. Within the vampire subculture, many slip into practices I don’t wish to write about, or even think about (see Ephesians 5:12). Sometimes an insatiable desire for human blood becomes uncontrollable. All to often morality vanishes, lust dominates, and perversity prevails. In extreme cases, unspeakable crimes are even committed too grotesque to be featured in theaters, or on most TV networks. Yet they have happened.

They are happening now.

The Dark Side

In the annals of human history there are many recorded cases where those driven by “blood lust” have committed horrific murders. Infamous names include Fritz Haarmaan, Tracy Wigginton, and teen vampire-cult leader Rod Ferrell. Their stories are too morbid to tell. Whole communities have been shocked by their deeds, newspapers have featured gruesome stories, and books have been written outlining ghastly details. In some cases – as in the case of Ferrell – criminal vampires have been executed. Yet unlike modern romanticized Hollywood movies and TV series, that 17-year-old killer didn’t rise again as one of the supernaturally fit, Immortal Undead, to develop exciting love affairs with beautiful women. Instead, his corpse now rots beneath the earth in a cemetery.

He won’t pop out of his coffin when the moon is full.

What the Bible Says about Ingesting Blood

It may surprise you, but nearly three millennia before Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries captured the imagination of millions, the Holy Bible warned humanity about drinking blood. The first reference appears immediately after a catastrophic flood washed human wickedness from planet Earth (read Genesis 6-8). Shortly after Noah and his family exited the ark, the Creator of all life informed them:

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you… But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood (Genesis 9:3,4, emphasis added)

In other words, if meat was to be eaten by Noah and his family after the flood, or by their descendants, the blood must first be drained out of the carcasses of dead animals. God repeated this counsel numerous times through Moses. Notice carefully:

“And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people” (Leviticus 17:10, emphasis added).

These verses are clear. If meat was to be eaten in Old Testament times, the blood must be drained out first. The leaders of the early Christian Church in Jerusalem affirmed the same teaching when they informed Gentile converts to “abstain ?from things polluted by idols, ?from ?sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:20, emphasis added).

Thus the command, “No Blood!” applies to all ages.

Drinking Blood, Occultism, and Self-Mutilation

Significantly, the Bible also connects the practice of ingesting blood with the mystical world of occultism. Take a look. Moses told the Israelites:

You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying (Leviticus 19:26, emphasis added)

The Hebrew word for “divination” is “nachash,” which The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words defines as “[to] whisper a (magic) spell” (10). The root word for “soothsaying” is “anan,” which The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon says means to practice “magic or augury or witchcraft” (11). Thus ingesting blood and occult magic are linked together, and for good reason. In Bible days, blood drinkers often practiced sorcery. Such blood-magic camaraderie has continued throughout history, and exists today. It has also been picked up by Hollywood.

In Twilight, Edward Cullen not only possesses supernatural strength because he is a vampire, but he has tremendous psychic abilities. He reads minds, and is a member of the “Olympic Coven.” “Lycanthropy,” or “shape sifting,” is featured too. Men turn into werewolves, and switch back again. These are all occult activities. Indeed, occultism permeates countless theaters, TV screens, and DVDs, from Harry Potter to Medium to Twilight. Today, sorcery sells, making big bucks for novelists, scriptwriters, filmmakers, and TV networks.

Make no mistake about it: vampirism and occultism usually go hand in hand.

In an unusual twist, Leviticus 19:26 (quoted above) is almost immediately followed by a warning against self-mutilation. After warning about blood and magic, God told the Israelites:

“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh … I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:28).

Sanguine (blood drinking) vampires, whether “ethical” or not, do exactly that. They pierce human flesh for the purpose of drawing, and ingesting, blood. Frighteningly, a similar act called “cutting” is now increasingly practiced among teenagers. Reported in the news, this practice is now causing deep concern among educators, health professionals, and parents. Why are kids cutting themselves these days? “It helps them cope with inner pain,” say the experts.

One thing’s for sure. Cutting can become addicting.

Washington School Incident

The voice on the telephone was urgent. “Please come and speak to our students and parents!” urged the school board chairman of a small Christian school in Washington State, the same state where much of Twilight was filmed. This man contacted me because he knew of my research into Harry Potter and occultism, and they thought I could help. Without going into too many details, a 14-year-old girl had unexpectedly fallen to the floor exhibiting clear signs of “demonic possession” – right in the classroom. As you can imagine, those who witnessed this fearful incident were rather “freaked out.” After a two-hour struggle during which the teacher and students prayed for the girl, her face finally relaxed and, just like in Bible days, “the evil spirit departed” (1 Samuel 16:23). Her sanity returned.

In talking to persons at the school, I discovered that many of the students were reading Twilight. They knew about “cutting” too. Not only that, but at least one was dabbling in occultism. Yet the “demonic possession” event wasn’t a Hollywood movie.

It was real.

“Okay, I’ll come,” I told the school board chairman, and a few days later, I arrived on campus. After meeting with the students, the principal, and some of the parents, I led out in a Bible study of one major passage in the New Testament. As a group, this is what we read:

(5:1) Then they [Jesus and His disciples] came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. (5:2) And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, (5:3) who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, (5:4) because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. (5:5) And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. (5:6) When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. (5:7). And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” (5:8) For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” (5:9) Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” (5:10) Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. (5:11) Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. (5:12) So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” (5:13) And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. (5:14) So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. (5:15) Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. (5:16) And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. (5:17) Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. (5:18)
And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. (5:19) However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” (5:20) And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled (Mark 5:1-20).

This stirring account describes a lunatic possessed with “an unclean spirit” (verse 2). Significantly, he dwelt in a cemetery, suffered horrific emotional pain, and continued compulsively “cutting himself with stones” (verse 5). Then he met Jesus Christ. Sensing hope for the first time in years, the crazy man cast himself at Jesus’ feet. But when he tried to speak, another voice snarled through his contorted lips.

“What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” uttered an eerie intelligence.

“What is your name?” replied the Savior, without a trace of fear.

“My name is Legion,” shot back the reply, “for we are many” (verse 9).

In the days when Roman Caesars ruled the world, a “legion” consisted of between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers in a Roman army. Now think about it: if a numerical “legion” of invisible entities really entered this wretched man’s body, this means that literally thousands of “unclean spirits” had taken up residence within him. Some imagine that the man’s troubles were merely psychological. “He wasn’t possessed with real devils,” skeptics sometimes retort; but their reasoning is false. Real demons were there. How do we know? Because when Jesus Christ drove them out they invaded nearly two thousand pigs grazing nearby, and then “the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea” (verse 13). That’s how we know. Only real demons can propel two thousand pigs off a cliff.

Why did Jesus inquire, “What is your name?” Didn’t He know the answer already? Of course He did. He didn’t ask this question to satisfy His own curiosity, but for our benefit. He sought to lift the veil and to enlighten us about the true nature of the malicious forces we are dealing with.

What forces? Jesus Himself revealed the answer when He later predicted that someday “the devil and his angels” would be hurled into “everlasting fire” (Matthew 25:41). Those forces. “The devil” refers to “Satan,” a fallen angel who first rebelled against God (see Rev. 12:7), and “his angels” are those who joined him in his fearful endeavor. As of this moment, their full punishment is still future. Until then, these turbulent “legions” remain highly capable of seducing, inhabiting, and utterly ruining human beings, just as the Bible reveals. When they invade a victim, they often lead him or her to dwell on death (the possessed man lived in a cemetery), perform unusual feats of strength (he broke his chains), suffer extreme emotional agony (he ran screaming night and day), and cut their bodies.

That’s right. Satan’s legions influence people to slice their own skin and draw blood.

It’s happening right now in our day.

The Blood Battle

Hollywood isn’t alone in its focus on blood. Neither is real vampirism. As we’ve already seen, the Bible also says a lot about blood, and surprisingly, it’s not all negative. While the Good Book plainly warns about ingesting literal blood, it also urges us to trust in the shed blood of one unique Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, ever since Adam and Eve first listened to the snickering of the snake in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 3:1-6), blood has been at the heart of the Great War between the Creator and Lucifer over the salvation of our souls.

It all started with the time of the first sin (see Genesis 3:1-5). Shortly after Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s command not to eat the forbidden fruit, they stood naked and trembling, hiding as guilty sinners among the trees of the garden. Yet all was not lost. Their Creator loved them still. In a marvelous act expressing infinite mercy, “the Lord God made coats of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). Those garments came from sacrificed animals whose blood was shed.

Why such a sacrifice? Adam must have wondered.

Why the blood? pondered Eve.

At that early date, the full answer remained hidden in their Creator’s heart.

Years later another scene occurred. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. A cruel Pharaoh ruled. After nine plagues devastated his land, Moses instructed the Israelites to slay innocent lambs and to soak their doorposts with crimson stains. Deliverance would arrive when the 10^th plague struck at midnight. “And when I see the blood,” God informed His people, “I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy? you, when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:14, emphasis added).

The blood was a sign of protection, and deliverance.

This sacred, unfolding revelation intensified when the Holy One instructed His priests to enter the Most Holy Place of His Temple on the Day of Atonement and to sprinkle warm blood on a golden lid on top of a golden box containing the Ten Commandments (see Leviticus 16:14). Here blood above the Ten Commandments foreshadowed cleansing from sin.

After more decades, centuries, and even millennia, Heaven’s prophetic clock struck twelve, and a Boy was born in Bethlehem. The Pure One grew up in Nazareth, was baptized in the Jordan River, preached in Galilee, healed the sick throughout Judea, and finally, on a fateful Thursday night inside Jerusalem beneath a full Passover moon, He distributed the juice of crushed grapes to His disciples. He alone understood the full meaning of the sweet elixir. “For this is my blood of the new covenant,” Israel’s true Messiah declared, “which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28, emphasis added).

The next day the Promised One hung crucified between two thieves on a hill called Calvary. Drop by drop, stain by stain, His own blood soaked the wood of a tree supporting His beaten body. What does it all mean? Why were animals sacrificed in Eden? Why the blood of lambs on Egyptian doors? Why were crimson drops sprinkled by Jewish High Priests in the Most Holy Place? The Bible alone can explain its own mystery. In the New Testament, Paul explained,

“…we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7, emphasis added).

The book of Revelation identifies those who beat the devil. Don’t miss it:

And they [God’s people] overcame him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death (Revelation 12:11, emphasis added)

When you put all of these verses together, it becomes clear that salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ is Heaven’s battle cry in the Great War. No doubt, Satan hates the blood of Christ. He knows that no matter how guilty we stand in the sight of a Holy God, we can still find hope, healing, and full salvation through that royal, crimson substance. If we repent of our sins and have “faith in His blood” (Romans 3:25), we can be forgiven, washed, purified, and redeemed. We can’t fully understand it, for it’s an eternal mystery; yet it’s true.

Don’t ever forget it!

The blood of Jesus Christ His Son

cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7)

“Aghh! How can we stop lost sinners from discovering the power of that blood?” legions of demons ask their master in secret council meetings. “Through diversions,” the Prince of Darkness whispers slyly. “Through magick, witchcraft, occultism, vampirism, and whatever else we can think of to divert minds from that hated blood!”

Spooky Parallels

As stated earlier, the Twilight saga received its initial spark when Stephenie Meyer had an unusual dream on June 1, 2003. Eerily, the Harry Potter phenomenon began with a similar ‘revelation’ given to Joanne Rowling in 1990 while she was traveling by train outside of London. “The character of Harry Potter just popped into my head, fully formed,” Rowling reflected in 2001. “Looking back, it was all quite spooky!” She also stated to inquiring media that the Potter books “almost wrote themselves.” “My best ideas often come at midnight,” Rowling declared.

As with Rowling, so with Meyers. When those mesmerizing tales first burst into the brains of these two women, neither was an established writer. Both were novices. They weren’t rich either. Now they are millionaires many times over. Their experiences are similar, with common threads. Both of their novels are permeated with occultism. Based on this, it’s appropriate to wonder, is there a supernatural source behind these revelations? If so, what is it?

Stephenie Meyer herself provides an amazing clue to the answer. After her unexpected rise to stardom, she later confessed,

I actually did have a dream after Twilight was finished of Edward coming to visit me – only I had gotten it wrong and he did drink blood like every other vampire and you couldn’t live on animals the way I’d written it. We had this conversation and he was terrifying. (12)

I’m convinced that the “Edward” who appeared to Stephenie Meyer in her two dreams was a demon with a secret, diabolical agenda. What agenda? Based on what God’s Book says in Revelation 12:11, it was to keep sinful mortals focused on the wrong blood. Judging by the public’s response to the Twilight novels and movies, his hellish plot has been successful.

No Greater Love

Twilight’s appeal is twofold. First, it’s a captivating tale of vampires and werewolves; and second, it’s a heart-stirring love story about Edward and Bella. “You may be fictional,” wrote one Edward Cullen fan, “but you’ve already stolen so many girls hearts – including mine!”

Personally, two others have stolen mine. One is my lovely wife Kristin, and the other…Ah, His love surpasses that of any mortal. He’s far older than 108. In fact, He has no beginning (see Micah 5:2); no end (see 1 John 1:1-3); He reads minds too (see Luke 6:8); has infinite power (see Matthew 28:18), and He’s real. He doesn’t suck blood either, whether human or animal. Instead, He willingly shed His blood to save us from sin, “the lake of fire,” and “the second death” (see Revelation 20:14,15). And what motivated Him was not mere Hollywood romance, but the purest form of love found anywhere in the universe.

In Robert Coleman’s book, Written in Blood, the story is told of a young boy named Johnny who conquered a deadly disease. Unfortunately, his little sister Mary caught it, and was nearing death. “She needs a blood transfusion or she’ll die,” the family doctor told the parents, “and Johnny’s blood is perfect because he has already overcome the disease.” All eyes then turned to the lad. “Will you give your blood?” his parents asked tearfully. Johnny hesitated. His lower lip trembled. “Sure,” he finally whispered, “She’s my sister.”

Then they all rushed to the hospital.

In the operating room, Johnny and Mary lay next to each other on separate beds. Johnny’s body was healthy, while Mary lay pale and faint. Neither spoke. When their eyes met, the boy grinned. Tubes were connected, a needle was inserted into Johnny’s arm, and the red liquid began to flow. When the transfusion was nearly over, Johnny broke the silence, and with a shaky voice asked the doctor, “When do I die?” Only then did the doctor realize why the child’s lower lip trembled when he agreed to the donation. He thought he was offering his life for his sister. Yet he was willing to do it because he loved her, and the giving of his own blood was the ultimate proof of it.

Dear reader, in a much deeper sense, that’s what Jesus Christ did for you on that cruel cross. He absorbed your sins into His heart, sacrificed His life, and shed His blood. Then on the third day, He rose from the dead (see Matthew 28:1-8).

Believe me, His love is better than that of vampires, including Edward’s.

His blood alone can save our souls.

In these last days before our Savior returns, don’t let Lucifer’s legions mesmerize your mind with the wrong blood.

1. See http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

2. Time.com, “Stephenie Meyer: A New J.K. Rowling?” By Lev Grossman. April 24, 2008.

3. See Meyer’s website referenced above.

4. Ibid.

5. Time.com article referenced above.

6. See http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=3277499&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/hannitysamerica/

7. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/11/14/ST2008111401409.html

8. See http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=6154446&page=

9. See http://www.atlantavampirealliance.com/missionfaq.html

10. Strong, J. (1997, c1996). The new Strong’s dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words (H5172). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

11. Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (H6049). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.

12. See http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/11/06/iron-man-my-chemical-romance-x-men-cartoons-among-twilight-author-stephenie-meyers-inspirations

[Note: This article is now available in book form. 
See www.avoidtwilight.com]

 

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