Our world is a very dark place, and things are going to get a lot darker. ( mark d/Flickr/CC )

Interest in Satan and Satanism has experienced a tremendous resurgence in recent years.

At one time, satanists were generally feared and shunned by society, but now Satanism is steadily being accepted into mainstream culture. Until recently, the Church of Satan founded by Anton LaVey in 1966 was the most prominent satanic organization in the world, but now it is rapidly being overtaken by a relatively new group known as the Satanic Temple.

It is headquartered in Salem, Massachusetts, and was founded in 2013 to combat the influence of evangelical Christianity in politics. It has grown explosively over the past several years, and at this point, the organization's leadership claims it has a global membership of somewhere around 100,000.

On Saturday night, the chapter of the Satanic Temple in Los Angeles held what was described as "their biggest event ever:"

On Saturday, the Satanic Temple of Los Angeles held their biggest event ever: a massive satanic mass, complete with a live bloodletting ritual. The purpose of the mass, according to the Satanic Temple's website, was "to inspire personal and societal liberation." The event, which was held in partnership with Das Bunker, doubled as a fundraiser for a number of causes, including the women's reproductive rights campaign, lawsuits concerning violations of the First Amendment and providing education and assistance to individuals incarcerated in our for-profit prison system. Once attendees made it past the massive line to get in, there was live painting and first-come-first-serve tattooing.

In most Christian churches, if the program goes over an hour. people start to become quite restless. In contrast, these satanists gleefully celebrated their dark arts well into the night. At this event in Los Angeles, the doors opened at 9 p.m., and a series of very twisted events led up to "a bloodletting ritual" that didn't end until nearly 3 in the morning...

A one-hour invocation ritual followed at 1 a.m. The crowd later took part in a bloodletting ritual from 2:15 a.m. to 2:45 a.m. The Satanic Temple Los Angeles had teased the event ahead of time, saying it had faced "rampant opposition" in the months leading up to it.

I actually know someone who belongs to the Satanic Temple. At one time, he was seriously considering becoming a Christian, but now he is very proud to call himself a satanist.

And a lot of these satanists are far more committed than most people who call themselves Christians.

A single individual with a passion for a cause can accomplish a great deal. Unfortunately, all too often, these individuals are working for the wrong side. For example, a public school teacher in Boca Raton, Florida decided that he wanted to put up a "satanic display" in a public square this past holiday season, and despite tremendous opposition, he was able to achieve his goal.

Earlier this month, the city of Boca Raton gave Smith permission to install a satanic display at Sanborn Square downtown. That is the same park where other religious organizations install a nativity scene and menorah during the holiday season. Smith is a known activist for separating religion from government. He argued if the city allows one religious display on public property, it has to allow them all, even if they are offensive. His display included the words "May the children hail Satan." Bremer said that is not a message a middle school teacher should spread.

You have got to be quite sick to do that sort of thing, but the truth is that a new brand of militant Satanism is on the rise all over the nation.

Back in July, the Satanic Temple announced it would be launching a series of after-school programs for elementary students all over America, and so far, they have established nine clubs.

If you can believe it, this includes an after-school club in heavily Mormon Utah:

Utah's first After School Satan Club kicked off with an open house Wednesday at Vista Elementary School. advertisement The club, for children between the ages of 5 and 12, encourages students to think critically and have a scientific understanding of the world around them, according to Chalice Blythe, Utah chapter head for the Satanic Temple. "Kids naturally have that ability to be curious and question things," Blythe said. "We're basically just saying we should bolster that."

The Satanic Temple says they do not intend to encourage kids to worship Satan. In fact, it may surprise you to learn that many "satanists" do not actually believe in a literal being named Satan at all. According to CNN, the Church of Satan considers "Satan" to simply be "a symbol of pride, liberty and individualism ..."

The Church of Satan, founded in the mid-1960s, explains it this way on its website: "Satan to us is a symbol of pride, liberty and individualism, and it serves as an external metaphorical projection of our highest personal potential. We do not believe in Satan as a being or person."

And the official stance of the Satanic Temple is quite similar:

The Satanic Temple, which formed in recent years to fight a perceived intrusion of Christian values on American politics, says, "we do not promote a belief in a personal Satan. To embrace the name Satan is to embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions."

Of course, there are many satanists out there who take the worship of Satan quite seriously. These hardcore satanists tend to keep a much lower profile because they are often involved in things that could get them thrown in prison if they were to be discovered.

And as Christian occult expert Bill Schnoebelen likes to point out, one of the places you are most likely to find a satanist is at your local church. Many hardcore satanists are obsessed with sabotaging churches and other Christian organizations, and this Sunday, you could end up sitting next to a satanist at your church and might not ever realize it.

Even though much of the church tends to ignore it, spiritual warfare is a very real thing, and often the dark side takes it a lot more seriously than we do.

At the Vatican, they are also deeply alarmed by the rise in Satanism we are witnessing. In fact, the Vatican says so many people are becoming possessed that it is causing a real "emergency" within the Catholic Church.

A rise in demand for exorcisms has caused a shortage of priests able to carry them out, the Vatican's exorcist has warned. The church says a sharp rise in people wanting to experiment with Satanism and the occult means that more and more people are seeking out exorcisms, believing they have been overtaken by evil forces. But as demand grows, there is a lack of priests able to carry out the ceremonies to battle the devil's work, causing a real "emergency" within the Catholic Church.

Unfortunately for most of the people experimenting with these things, the truth is, they don't have any idea whom they are actually dealing with.

Satan and the forces under his command are very real, and they are locked in an epic conflict with the God who created all things. The Bible makes it clear that this conflict will reach a dramatic conclusion during the period of time just before the return of Jesus Christ, and many of us believe we have now entered the period of time the Bible refers to as "the last days."

Our world is a very dark place, and things are going to get a lot darker. But in the end good will triumph over evil, and that is a fact that should be of great comfort to all of us.

Michael Snyder's book entitled "Living A Life That Really Matters" is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

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