True To His Ways: Reflections

Contents:
Introduction
Rules for safe practice
Casting out demons
Asserting authority over spirits
A note from Athanasius
On angels and engaging with celestial beings
Occult use of ritual to ward off demons
Cataloguing demons (spiritual mapping)
Reverse voodoo(breaking off curses)
Deliverance
Poltergeist experiences
Satan does not touch the obedient
Demonic strongholds in biblical thought
Learning and keeping the Word of God
The belt of truth and the sword of the Spirit

Introduction

There is a real lack of knowledge about spiritual warfare in Christian circles. Many become involved in occult ‘warfare’ without realizing it. This is a dangerous error and can result in demonic activity in a person’s life. I often hear about nighttime attacks when people feel invisible hands around their necks. Or they suffer irrational fears, panic attacks or violent thoughts, etc. When I was unwittingly involved in the occult I experienced thoughts that definitely were not from my own spirit. I also suffered a lot of accidents and fear of the dark. Since leaving occultism I am free of all this and believe I enjoy the fullest possible spiritual protection from God.

First, here are basic rules for safe spiritual warfare. (Please, read with an open mind, I do explain later):

Rules for safe practice

Don’ts:

1) Never try to assert authority over a spirit or a demon. That means no rebuking them, no challenging them, no fighting with them or ordering them about.

2) Never speak to a dead person, not even in prayer. Not to saints, to “mother Mary”, or to any of the Apostles: that is necromancy, and is occult.

3) Never try to identify demons or spirits believed to be occupying a person, place or thing: that is magic. Spiritual mapping is pure magic.
4) Don’t think ‘success!’ just because you rebuke a demon and the thought or pain goes away. That is only to suck you in. The demon will return.

Do’s:

1) In the spiritual realm our weapons are truth and faith. We may speak truth aloud (like Jesus did) or silently to defend ourselves and fortify ourselves. Words are spiritual. Words of truth have great effect.

2) Resist the devil by resisting lies and temptations.

3) Be sanctified through the Word (“washed by the Word”), and through confession, obedience and prayer.
4) Pray for deliverance if necessary, alone or with others. But do not go to anyone with a so-called deliverance ministry

Casting out demons

Spiritual warfare is real. But there is an occult counterfeit, often performed by those who practice in the name of the Lord but do not really know Him. Jesus said:

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”(Matthew 7:21-23)

Casting out demons…something “many” will do in the Lord’s name. But, He will say to them, “Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness”!

Engaging demons and evil spirits—casting them out, speaking to them, ordering them around—is what magicians do and is a significant part of occultism in many religions. Shamans, Hindi Yogis, Tibetan Faith Healers, spiritists, voodoo elders, sorcerers and Roman Catholic priests—all may be involved in trying to cast demons out of persons, places and things.

Jesus clearly said that casting out demons (among other ‘wonders’) is something lawless, false Christians do. The time will come, He said, when He will reject them: “I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ” This is a dire warning. It is important to examine ourselves and see if we are among the self-deceived.

Counterfeit Christians cast out demons and work wonders in the name of the Lord. But, are there also true believers who do the same? There are at least 2 Scriptures that commonly confuse people into thinking that casting out demons (and doing other wonders) is something good Christians should be doing today: (1) the Apostles were given the power to cast out demons, and: (2) Mark, in his Gospel, as recorded in our English Bible, says, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons…” (see Mark 16:17-18).

I am content simply to rely on my understanding of what is occult, so I do not find it necessary to also arrive at a complete comprehension of difficult bible passages before leaving occult ways. I think that would be foolhardy. (I will leave fuller exposition of difficult verses to others, but for one, see Pink, Faith to Work Miracles.) A few comments however:

As to (1), miraculous powers over demons were given to the Apostles who were responsible for announcing and inaugurating the age of the New Covenant. I quote from Arthur Pink (article referenced above):

It must be borne in mind that at an earlier date Christ had appointed 12 of His disciples to preach the Gospel and to perform miracles in confirmation of their commission. “And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness” (Matt. 10:1)—those miraculous powers were primarily what Paul referred to when he spoke of, “The signs of an Apostle were wrought among you” (2 Cor. 12:12).

Such powers are signs of Apostles, not signs of ordinary saints. There are no new Apostles: that is a false, arrogant teaching. But, there is a new temple of the Lord—and that is the gathering of the elect, the ecclesia. This temple is being built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets who went before us. These were men chosen by God and commissioned with divine tasks, for which they suffered greatly as well as being endowed with miraculous gifts. The foundation has been laid, and is complete. They—the Apostles and Prophets whom God used in the writing of His Word—ARE the foundation, and the Lord Jesus is the chief corner stone. Later saints are added as bricks and mortar:

Now, therefore, you are…fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22)

No man or woman can claim authority as a modern Prophet or Apostle. Indeed, we test those who claim to be Apostles but are not, and find them to be liars (Revelation 2:2). So, let us not go about claiming apostolic powers and authority over demons. (I do not say there are no other spiritual gifts for believers today. But that is another topic.)

As to (2), the second difficulty: the signs given in Mark 16:17 do follow new believers; at least, they did then, in societies where the evangelion (the gospel) was more than mysterious and required evidences to build and confirm faith, and the Scriptures were not yet closed. And some of these signs may rarely, today, follow new believers. But they are never obtained as a result of occult practices, nor of seeking after signs and wonders. They are sovereign gifts of God. Remember, we do not test the experience. We test spiritual practice involved. We need to move from subjective to objective testing. (See What is Occult? What is Biblical? )

Asserting authority over spirits

A common, occult approach to spiritual warfare is to assert authority over the spirits, or even over Satan. Such authority is believed to be derived from, or granted by, the Lord.

To liberate people or places from demonic control, Charismatics try to exert authority over demons by using Jesus’ name, thinking this compels spirits to obey. But using the name of a “more powerful deity” as a weapon of authority against “lesser spirits” is typical occult methodology. Magicians have been doing it for centuries. For example Goetia (Latin for “howling”) magicians bind the spirits and command them in the name and authority of their deity. According to one author:

the spirits and demons of Geotia are bound and commanded by the magician to act as his servants…Common methods of control include threats, particularly in the form of the vibration of divine names, which tells the demon or spirit that the magician speaks with the authority and power of the god whose name he is intoning.¹ (emphasis added)

To take—or presume to take—authority over spirits in the name of your god is simple magic. Says a magic teacher:

any student; whether Jewish, Christian, or Pagan [can] command and exercise authority over the demons…by using the Names of Power associated with their faith.²

I’m not saying that Jesus will not come in power when we seek His help. I have no doubt He can and will and does. As the One through whom the Earth came into being, and who need only speak the word to make a thing happen, Jesus has complete authority over demons and may choose to exercise that authority at any time. However, we need to realize that His name cannot be used like magic: we cannot speak His power into being. Jesus exercises His power if and when He chooses, and anything else is an occult counterfeit.

A note from Athanasius

(Take note of this: to drive out demons is not human, but divine.)

In the 4^th century after Christ, one Athanasius of Alexandria wrote a very precious treatise entitled The Incarnation of the Word of God. It ought to be widely distributed today. In it he wrote:

To speak authoritatively to evil spirits, for instance, and to drive them out, is not human, but divine…even the most casual observer could see that these were acts of God.³

Take note of this: to drive out demons is not human, but divine. When Jesus speaks—He who is of the Godhead and by whom all things were made—His words have the power of creation. What he says, will be done. His creatures have no choice. All things exist in Him and are upheld by Him and He is lord over all. But we are not of the Godhead. We are not Jesus. We are not God. We cannot wield words like God, with the power of God. We are not divine and cannot do divine acts, therefore we cannot cast out demons with our words. We cannot take such power for ourselves. And we should never be so blind as to think that intoning the name of God magically invokes His power for our use.

(It may be, however - and here I enter a realm of speculation not completely outside what Scripture may suggest - that demons really do not like to hear the name of the Lord: at least, not when His name is spoken with meaning and reverence and in real faith. Oh, they may enjoy hearing His precious name used as a curse. Or they may enjoy hearing it on the irreverent lips of fraudulent preachers; I have noticed that some hiss out His name (Chessuss), or drag it out or misemphasize it (GeezzUUZZ). But perhaps to hear it spoken in faith is unpleasant to demons and they would rather leave than suffer it...again, I do not know. Or perhaps when the Lord's name is spoken prayerfully in faith for deliverance He honors the prayer. Athanasius himself seemed to accept such possibilities as these. And the Lord said to his disciples not to prevent those who did not follow with them from casting out demons in His name - see Luke 9:49-50.)

On guardian angels and engaging with celestial beings

Charismatic Bill Hamon, speaking at the National School of Prophets in 1999, claimed God had appointed him as “General Hamon” with authority over the archangel Michael. Mr. Hamon then said that “war angels” were coming to “co-labor” with him and with others willing to go into battle.⁴

Occult ideas like working with angels have gained hold in Charismatic circles and feature in the recent so-called Lakeland Revival. But this sort of teaching is as old as magic. Abramelin the Mage, occultist and hermit of antiquity (see Chapter 9 ), wrote on how to relate with angels and co-labor with them against evil spirits in his grimoire (magic guide), entitled The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, translated from the original Hebrew around the seventeenth or eighteenth century. This book is still considered a valuable resource by modern magicians. Below, the Mage offers advice on dealing with recalcitrant angels:

Also you shall menace them, in case they are unwilling to obey, with calling unto your aid the power of the holy angels over them. Your guardian angel will also have instructed you to perform this convocation with modesty, and in no wise to be timid, but courageous, yet in moderation, however, without too overbearing hardiness and bravery. And in case of their being inclined to resist, and unwilling to obey you, you must not on that account give way to anger, because thus you will only do injury to yourself; and they will ask nothing better, it being exactly what they would be endeavoring to do; but (on the contrary) with an intrepid heart, and putting your whole trust in God, with a tranquil heart you shall exhort them to yield, letting them see that you have put all your confidence in the living and only God, reminding them how powerful and potent he is.⁵

Note how the magician gives lip service to the sovereignty of God.

The approach of medieval magicians to evil spirits seems to have been generally courteous and respectful:

The courteous form of words in which Cellini’s priest addressed the demons in the Coliseum may have been on the lines of the following dismissal, which is typical of many found in medieval grimoires: “O demon, seeing that thou hast duly answered all my questions, I hereby license thee to depart without injury to man or beast. Depart, I say, and be thou willing and ready to come to me whenever conjured to do so by the sacred rites of magic. I now beseech thee to withdraw quietly, and may peace remain forever between me and thee.”⁶

But if early magicians entreated demons with deference, such is not the case with modern Charismagicians who confront angelic beings with aggressive presumption. For example, Cindy Jacobs, a founder of Generals of Intercession, believing the Lord was bestowing new spiritual authority upon her, spoke of a “release of the fist anointing.” Tough talk, indeed! Ms. Jacobs prophesied:

The Lord says, “Is not my right hand symbolic of My power and My right arm? With this release of the fist anointing, that which can punch the enemy can also break down strongholds. I have given you that fivefold.” The Lord says, “You must mix it with the spirit of Elijah, the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers to have the equation that will release the former and the latter rains of revival,” says God.⁷

Wow. We can give the devil a spiritual fist in his spiritual face? I think not.

Charismatic leaders regularly presume to tackle fallen angels head-on. One wrote the following instructions:

Step eight: Deliverance: At this point you are ready to expel the demons. I do so, casting them out by commanding them to “leave (the person) in Jesus’ Name, and begone to waterless places” (where Jesus said they would go, Mt 12:43), and never to return (Mk 9:29). I do not feel comfortable sending them to the abyss. That judgment is the prerogative of God at the time of the end (Lk 8:31). (emphasis original)⁸

The above author believes he could send demons to “the abyss,” but humility requires that he leave this task for God to do. Another leader approved the public cursing of Satan:

More than any place I know the most prominent Christian leaders in Argentina, such as Omar Cabreo and Carlos Annacondia, Hector Gimenez, and others, overtly challenge and curse Satan and his demonic forces both in private prayer and in public platforms. The nation as a whole is apparently engaged in a world class power encounter.⁹

No man can win a “power encounter” with Satan or his spirits; just when one thinks he is winning, the demons are probably laughing.

Occult use of ritual to ward off demons

(Waving flags is really no different from waving a magic wand.)

In my former Church, leaders claimed they could see demons hovering over the congregation during worship. They stood at the back waving flags to do spiritual warfare, supposedly expelling demons from the building and protecting worshipers. A leader told me, “There’s power in the flags!” Waving flags is really no different from waving a magic wand.

I don’t know what, if anything, these people were “seeing.” However, we have learned that demons will manifest to those who dabble in the occult. Experienced magicians know this for a fact. D. Conway, in his magic primer, explains as follows about demons (called “forms”):

everyone who reads occult literature or has any experience of magic will soon be brought up against forms that seem every bit as personal as the adept [magician] himself.¹⁰

Because demons eventually show up, occult practitioners become concerned about how to fight them off. Some develop a specialty in deliverance or demonology, as has happened among Charismatics. However, this is occult spiritual warfare, and is one more mile along the broad highway leading people into spiritual darkness.

Cataloguing demons (spiritual mapping)

(Naming and describing demons is yet another ancient, occult pursuit.)

The practice of “spiritual mapping” to identify and locate demonic strongholds over geographical areas was popularized by The Sentinel Group in their “Transformations” videos.¹¹ Part of the spiritual mapping process involves identifying and naming demons, so-called “strongmen” who have allegedly set up spiritual camp in certain geographic areas. The idea is that you need to understand what demons you are dealing with so you know how to fight them and expel them.

Charismatics in general are writing about and naming specific spirits they believe to be manifest enemies of the Church, or spirits in control of a person or place. Books are written about “unmasking the enemies of the Church” and how to identify particular spirits that harass believers, for example the “Jezebel” spirit. One pastor says “Jezebel” can be recognized by certain personality traits:

Jezebel is fiercely independent and intensely ambitious for pre-eminence and control. It is noteworthy that the name “Jezebel,” literally translated, means “without cohabitation.” This simply means she refuses “to live together” or “cohabit” with anyone. Jezebel will not dwell with anyone unless she can control and dominate the relationship…While she uses every means of sexual perversity known in hell, immorality is not the issue; control is what she seeks, using the power of sexual passions for the purpose of possessing men. (emphasis original)¹²

But naming and describing demons is yet another ancient, occult pursuit—common among magicians who believe they need to identify spirits so they can deal with them. This is precisely the thinking behind “spiritual mapping”: pure magic. Again, see Mr. Conway’s magic primer:

If this were an encyclopedia of demonology—and there are such things—we would now be faced with the horrible task of cataloging all known demons—and there are thousands of them of every shape, size and hue. The problem is compounded too by the fact that one demon may have myriad different shapes and often just as many names to go by. Fortunately, this work can safely be left to the encyclopedist although, unlike the magician, he is never likely to find himself conversing with the real thing.¹³

Demon encyclopedias! Classing and categorizing and naming and describing demons! This is not something new that Charismatics are doing. No, it is not an area they are pioneering, not a “new thing” God is doing in these days. Centuries ago a still-famous, occult manuscript called The Book of Solomon cataloged an elaborate hierarchy of demonic spirits, detailing their names, abilities and areas of specialty for the use of magicians and spiritists. The fact is, there is a vast amount of literature purporting to catalog demons from magicians and other occult practitioners. Why don’t spiritual mappers and Charismatic “discernment teachers” use them? No point reinventing the wheel. However, it would be better if they stopped calling themselves “Christian.”

Reverse voodoo

A form of occult warfare common in the Charismatic Church is what I call “reverse voodoo.” Voodoo is a Haitian form of magic characterized by the frequent use of hexes, or curses, placed on people, places or animals. Reverse voodoo is the attempt to break or remove curses. Whole ministries have been developed around reverse voodoo, such as Streams Ministries. Charismatics battle against all types of curses, including those imposed by God, as with so-called “generational curses,” and also witches’ curses. Anyone who has spent time among Charismatics will be familiar with the prayer formulas they use to break the power of a curse. See, for example, the following teaching:

Praying for someone that has had a curse or spell placed on them: After having the person pray the above prayer on this page, you, as God’s servant, may break the curse or spell by praying the following words over the person: In the name and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, as His servant, I now break all curses, spells or incantations off you…¹⁴

But, what if it doesn’t work? Well, reverse voodoo is practiced widely among the nations, one can always seek a remedy there. A group called “Global Psychics” published the following:

Notes on Removing a Curse: …the first remedy for clearing a curse is to raise your vibrational frequency so that the negative energy can no longer infect your life…¹⁵

Not keen on raising your vibrational frequency? Well, you can purchase yarrow root from Venice Voodoo for $2.50, good for breaking curses.¹⁶ And witches have spells:

This is a simple spell to do and is most effective in removing a curse. Most important it sends the curse back to its original source seven times worse… Carry out the spell only on a full moon between the hours of twelve midnight and one in the morning.¹⁷

On the Web I also found material from magicians, Chi workers, “medical intuitives,” and shamans who all say they know how to break off a curse. But the point has been made. Reverse voodoo is not Christian. It is occult.

Deliverance

As an unwitting student of the occult I once took a course from a self-styled Charismatic prophet and teacher with an international deliverance ministry. He told the class he often engages in “power encounters” with evil spirits, takes control of them and casts them out. During these encounters the spirits supposedly manifest in weird and frightening ways; for example, by causing their victims to slither like snakes or roar like lions. The teacher said these manifestations show the demons are fighting back.

That God delivers people from addictions and demonic control is a fact. He promises to set us free, and He does. But the satanic counterfeit is exorcism, namely the purported use of one’s own “authority in Christ” to compel demons to leave.

Exorcism and deliverance ministries are common among Charismatics. I myself witnessed a few “power encounters” and can testify that the howling, struggling, apparent release, resulting exuberance and other manifestations are convincing. However, in no case did I ever see lasting fruit. This puzzled me, but the manifestations were so real I continued to believe, in error, that my leaders were helping people.

No good fruit, but what about the bad?

Poltergeist experiences

(Charismatic and kundalini yoga teachers: both believe demonic activity is a sign of spiritual progress.)

My former “spiritual warfare” teacher admitted that he suffers from demonic attacks. Once he saw gremlins climbing up his arm, heading for his brain—a classic poltergeist experience, such as often happens to people involved in the occult. Sadly, however, this teacher believes Satan attacks him because he is a great prayer warrior.

Former guru Rabi Maharaj tells of poltergeist phenomena he and his family suffered when they were involved in yoga; they thought their house was haunted and that a Hindu god, Shiva, was attacking them. Mr. Maharaj writes:

One night while studying late he [a cousin who lived in the house] had been slapped by an invisible hand so hard that it had knocked him down, and the next morning the marks were still on his face for us all to see. Another night invisible hands had choked him on his bed, and again he had felt it was Shiva…These mysterious physical attacks and the continued haunting of the house by Nana’s spirit had a cumulative and unnerving effect upon all of us.¹⁸

Those residing with occult practitioners may also be at risk. Benny Hinn wrote that an unseen force knocked down his mother in her own home:

Once, my mother was cleaning the hallway while I was in my room talking with the Holy Spirit. When I came out, she was thrown right back. Something had knocked her against the wall. I said, “What’s wrong with you, Mama?” She answered, “I don’t know.” Well, the presence of the Lord almost knocked her down. My brothers will tell you of the times they came near me and didn’t know what was happening—but they felt something unusual.¹⁹

Charismatic teacher Neil Anderson also experiences poltergeist attacks. He runs a “counseling and deliverance” ministry and has published several books. In The Bondage Breaker he writes:

I was preparing to speak in chapel on the topic of deliverance and evangelism, in which I would expose some of the strategies of Satan in these areas. Early that morning I rose…When I stepped out of the shower I found several strange symbols traced on the fogged-up mirror. I didn’t do it, and [the family] hadn’t done it either…I went down to eat breakfast alone, and as I was sitting in the kitchen, suddenly I felt a slight pain on my hand that made me flinch. I looked down to see what appeared to be two little bite-marks on my hand. “Is that your best shot?” I said aloud to the powers of darkness attacking me. “Do you think symbols on the mirror and a little bite are going to keep me from giving my message in chapel today? Get out of here.” The nuisance left, and my message in chapel went off without a hitch.²⁰

Like my old teacher, Mr. Anderson also believes these demonic attacks indicate he is successful in ministry, so Satan is after him in a big way. However, this illustrates another parallel between Charismatic and kundalini teachers: Both believe demonic activity is a sign of spiritual progress or accomplishment, although they explain this in different ways. Yogis (at least, Western yogis) teach that their sufferings—including poltergeist attacks—are signs of spiritual growth or “emergence.” On the other hand, Charismatics think poltergeist attacks indicate success in spiritual warfare.

Satan does not touch the obedient

How, then, can a believer be safe from Satan? See Proverbs 1:32-33: “The turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.” The one who listens to and obeys God will be safe from the evil one, who will not touch him (see 1 John 5:18). This does not mean we can avoid temptation, suffering, illness or persecutions; indeed, we may experience these problems severely. However, poltergeist experiences—frontal attacks by demons—should not happen when a true believer is walking in the will of God and avoiding all occult exposure.

After the miraculous conversion of his entire family to Christianity, Rabi Maharaj reported that all poltergeist experiences ceased. He writes that as well as experiencing greater tenderness and love:

There was another change that was not visible from the outside, but which meant even more to us. The haunting footsteps that we had thought came from Nana’s spirit were no longer heard storming up and down the attic or stamping outside our bedrooms at night. The peculiarly disagreeable odor that had often accompanied these phenomena and that we had never been able to trace had disappeared, never to return. And no longer were objects suddenly moved by some invisible force off the sink or a table or out of a cupboard to crash to the floor. We understood at last that the cause of all of these things had not been Nana’s spirit, as we had supposed, but spirit beings the Bible called “demons”…²¹

The terrible thing about poltergeist experiences is what they reveal about demonic penetration into the world and temporal realm. They indicate that fallen angels have “arrived”, and are displaying their presence. Occultism gives evil angels a way into the human mind and soul, and into the physical environment. I suspect the level of danger and defilement is much greater than we can imagine. The land is defiled as the apostasy progresses.

Demonic strongholds in biblical thought

(The strongholds we need to demolish are erroneous beliefs—lies and error.)

In true biblical thought, a stronghold is a system of erroneous beliefs. Charismatics would agree with this statement because they understand, at least in theory, the importance of believing what is true and rejecting what is false. But they do not understand spiritual warfare, and so they think we should tear down strongholds by casting out demons. Wrong.

As the father of lies, Satan exerts power by influencing what humans believe. Our mind is the battlefield. Therefore, the strongholds we need to demolish are erroneous beliefs—lies and error. Study, teaching and even argument are godly weapons of spiritual warfare. Viewed from this perspective it becomes clear that the Apostles were engaged in spiritual warfare when they preached, taught and wrote. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” Jesus said (Mark 16:15). Paul wrote:

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ… (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Paul did not say to “cast out” high things or “bind every spirit to obedience to Christ.” No, because the battle is not won that way. We cast down arguments to win the mind with truth, and bring thoughts into captivity. (This Website is my effort to win the minds of my readers, and to set people free from occult strongholds.)

Learning and keeping the Word of God

In biblical Christianity, personal spiritual warfare is humble and simple. First, we must learn and keep learning the Scriptures so we are washed by them and built up in them. Then (to oversimplify somewhat) spiritual warfare involves primarily resisting the temptations of Satan and the flesh and walking in obedience to the commands of God. We are doing spiritual warfare when we say “no” to ungodly temptations and opportunities. Yes, this is godly spiritual practice! It is not something silly or legalistic. Nor is it easy. But it is godly and very pleasing to the Lord when our will is to do His will. Furthermore, obedience—or at least, the whole-hearted effort to be obedient—earns for us the protection of our Father.

In human families the obligation of the child is to love and obey the parent. The parent, then, is responsible to love, nurture and protect the child. This is an earthly pattern of the divine Father/child relationship. If we do the will of our Father in heaven (as Jesus put it) and attempt to please Him, we can be confident of His love, nurturance and protection in return. But if we are rebellious, contemptuous and disobedient, we can expect to be left to our own devices and to experience the consequences of our disobedience. There is not sufficient space here to discuss what it is to render obedience unto our heavenly Father, but suffice it to say that it means submitting to the Ten Commandments not only outwardly, but also spiritually and inwardly as expounded by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. No man or woman can do so perfectly, but the sincere desire is all our Father requires, provided our faith is not in ourselves, but in Jesus for righteousness.

The belt of truth and the sword of the Spirit

Methods of spiritual warfare during times of temptation or trial include declaring God’s truth, either quietly in one’s mind or out loud if circumstances permit: this is to use the sword of the spirit, the Word of God, and is an effective way to resist the devil and protect the self. This is what Jesus did when tempted in the desert (see Matthew 4:1-9).

Satan hates truth and will flee from it. James wrote, “…submit to God [that is, obey Him]. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). We resist in God’s truth. So, for example, if we are being tempted to malicious gossip, we may say aloud, "My Lord says to speak evil of no person." If we are being tempted to lustful thoughts, we might say, "My Lord says, to even look at another with lust is to commit adultery in my heart." To know the truth is the first step and we arm ourselves by reading and learning the Word of God: that is why the belt of truth was the first item Paul mentioned in the armor of Christian spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:14). Once so armed, we then use the truth to remind, edify and fortify ourselves, to resist temptation, and to endure trials. A believer who does not know the Word of God is a warrior without a sword.

Of course, believers—especially new believers or those plagued by besetting sin—should never hesitate to fast, pray and plead to God for help and deliverance. If we have become trapped in sin before conversion or through occult activities we may be subject to severe spiritual trials. Should we be subject to besetting sin, addiction or chronic demonic attacks it is important to avoid the sorts of spiritual warfare activities we discuss here which can only make matters worse. Seek the prayers of sound believers and fast, pray and plead to God for help and deliverance.

As to intercessory warfare, the orthodox approach is first to pray, plead and reason with God on behalf of those who need His mercy and power. Second—and equally important—we intercede for people by teaching and declaring God’s truth.

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A BELIEVER WHO DOES NOT KNOW THE WORD OF GOD IS A SOLDIER WITHOUT A SWORD

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Endnotes (some Web references are deleted here as we do not wish to link to occult sites on the Web. If applicable they are set out in the book True to His Ways and were current when taken):

1. David Claiborne, Goetia,Web reference removed here
2. Garald Campo, New Aeon Magick, Web reference removed here
3 St. Athanasius, The Incarnation of the Word of God, translated into English by “A Religious of C.S.M.V. (New York: MacMillan, 1947), p 47.
4. Bill Hamon, quoted in Kent Philpott, “Warrior Angels,” Miller Avenue Baptist Church, Web reference removed here. Precise quote: “Now, everybody that’s willing to be a warrior, raise your hand, because angels are coming for assignments to co-labor with us. You’ve had your guardian angels. This is a new angel. This is a war angel. I say this is a war angel.”
5. The Mage, Sacred Magic, ch. 13, p. 1. Abramelin condemned other occultists. We saw in chapter 8 that this is common among mystics and magicians, who accuse each other of sorcery. Abramelin wrote “certain accursed persons write…by means of seals, and conjurations, and superstitious figures, and pentacles, and other abominations, written by diabolical enchanters…this would be the coin wherewith the hideous Satan would buy you for his slave” (p. 2).
6.David Conway, Magic, an Occult Primer, 2^nd edition, New York: Bantam Books, 1972, footnote page 200.
7. Cindy Jacobs, “Restoring the Spirit of Elijah,” May 5, 2002, Web reference removed here. I need to comment that this “mixing” of spirits to have an equation that will “release rains of revival” is nothing more than a spell, an occult “formula” intended to magically accomplish the speaker’s purposes.
8. John Hill, Coming to Grips with Deliverance (self-published booklet), p 51.
9. C. Peter Wagner, Engaging the Enemy, Jubilee Christian Centre, 22-23, quoted in Bill Randles Making War in the Heavenlies: A Different Look at Spiritual Warfare (Great Britain: St. Matthews Publications, 1996), p 46.
10. Conway, Occult Primer,p 195.
11. Some groups, concerned about the authenticity of claims made in the Transformations videos, investigated and report that the claims are untrue. One author concludes: “As far as we can see, this video and movement is coming into the Churches under the stealth of prayer. Much of what had been reported in the video is falsehood, exaggeration with only shreds of truth. They may mean well but we should be offended and resound against such monkey business on their part. They are giving glory to God for events that did not transpire the way they say. Instead, they give the people who watch this video, fabrications.” Web ref. Removed. Other reviews are available on the Web.
12. Frangipane, Francis, The Jezebel Spirit (Cedar Rapids, IA: Arrow, 1991), pp 8-9.
13. Conway, Occult Primer, p 195.
14. “Breaking Curses, Spells and Incantations,” Web reference removed here.
15. Global psychics Web reference removed here
16. Venice Voodoo, “Herbs and Roots,” Web reference removed here.
17. “Spells to Remove a Curse,” Web reference removed here
18. Rabi R Maharaj with Dave Hunt, Death of a Guru: A Remarkable True Story of One Man’s Search for Truth, Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1984, p 73.
19. Benny Hinn, Good Morning, Holy Spirit (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1990), p 42.
20. Neil T. Anderson, The Bondage Breaker, 2nd ed. (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1993), pp 85-86.
21. Maharaj, p 136.

Adapted from Chapter 16 of True to His Ways. Posted 2008.
Recommended Reading: Making War in the Heavenlies by Bill Randles