Evil can have a beautiful side. The
result, of course, is always darkness and demonic devastation. However,
when the evil of the occult initially presents itself it can be shrouded
in a compelling type of allure that defies description. Just as the
serpent in the Garden of Eden beguiled Eve through his false light and
subtlety, so too can sincere Christians be deluded by a spirit of seduction.
This spirit of seduction is not to be taken lightly.
Any believer who thinks that he or she cannot be deceived in the spiritual
realm is deceived already because pride has set him or her up for a
fall. The enemy of our souls knows us well. He knows exactly how to
draw us into his web of deception through that which not only appeals
to the flesh, but through that which tantalizes the spirit.
There are those who, believing themselves to be wiser
than most, bury themselves in esoteric items, such as books or ancient
scripts. Others may flirt with the dangers of hidden knowledge because
it provides them with a personal image that they can hide behind. There
are some people who see themselves as infallible and disregard the clear
warnings of scripture concerning the pursuit of forbidden knowledge
and practices. After all, being part of an inner circle of initiated
people can appeal to a person’s need to feel important or superior
to others. Finally, there are those who are sincere, naïve, and
overly curious. These types of people can be seduced through their emotional
makeup, and this is exactly where I found myself over thirty years ago.
At that time I was a Christian who, along with all
of the other “normal” Christians, knew the plan of salvation
forwards and backwards and attended church. That’s all it takes
for a person to get to heaven, right? WRONG! No one ever defined for
me what the Christian life entailed. I had no clue that Jesus must be
Lord of my life, that I was to work out my salvation with fear and trembling
(Philippians 2:12)), and that if I loved Jesus then I was to obey Him.
I was the typical churchite who had been taught next to nothing and
didn’t have a clue about separation, paying the price, taking
up my cross through self-denial, and following Christ. No one ever outlined
the dangers of the occult and what it entailed. I figured I was saved
and that nothing could interfere with my salvation, including living
a life that was far from pleasing to God.
And so it was that I found myself in a terrible personal
pit, living in a lonely place and having only one friend, an elderly
lady who lived across the street. She belonged to a book club and began
loaning me certain books to read. There were books by Edgar Cayce, Ruth
Montgomery, Jean Dixon, and other authors whose names I cannot recall.
There were books about reincarnation, metaphysics, ghosts, the paranormal,
automatic writing, palmistry, numerology, astrology, and other occult
topics. These books appealed to my insatiable curiosity because of the
many psychic experiences I had in my teen years and afterwards a brief
involvement with a metaphysical healer who had somehow instantaneously
“cured” me of painful muscle spasms in my back.
I devoured those books, but then the contents of those
books began to “devour me” as I taxed my brain as to how
to fit all of this esoteric information into what I knew of the Bible.
In other words, I was trying to take all of the confusing pieces of
the mystical puzzle along with scripture and compile them into one comprehensive
whole. Of course, it is impossible to combine darkness and light, good
and evil, truth and error. Meanwhile, Satan began playing clever tricks
with my mind and emotions by causing bigger-than-life scenarios of supposed
“past incarnations” to surface. Confusion and conflict was
the inevitable result.
Even though these brief brushes with the occult took
place over three decades ago, I will never forget the night of the demonic
visitation. As I sat alone on the couch, suddenly, out of the air I
saw a frantic flurry of vividly colorful activity streaking toward my
head. I needed no formal introduction to know that these were hordes
of demons, determined to push my mind into a total state of insanity.
Loud shrieking, chirping, and an indescribable screeching assaulted
my spiritual ears. I fell to the floor and cried out to God to save
me, and they immediately disappeared. I cleaned out every occult book,
and shortly thereafter major changes in my life took me out of the bad
situation I was in and moved me away from my bookworm neighbor.
In the course of time I found myself teaching an oil
painting class to a group of seniors. One day I met a very petite young
woman who was visiting the senior center to discuss the health benefits
of Yoga with the group. Even though at the time I had misgivings which
were, I know now, warnings from the Holy Spirit, I decided to join her
class in the hope of regaining a more youthful figure. (Yeah, right!)
My very first visit to this Yoga class gave me the creeps. It was held
in a Unity church, and I knew without a doubt that Unity was satanic
through and through. That entire class from start to finish made me
extremely uncomfortable, and I could hardly wait to get out of there.
(Since that time, I’ve learned to simply get up and walk out of
situations where the wrong spirit is present, and this includes churches.)
By the time I got home, one of my legs was so swollen from jumping rope
that it looked like a watermelon. I got the message loud and clear.
God wanted me to say away from Yoga. Later I learned that Hinduism is
the origin of any type of Yoga, and Christians should have no part in
it whatsoever for any reason.
I wish I could say that I was never spiritually seduced
again, but such is not the case. A year or so later I was faced with
another challenge. This time a retired Christian minister whom I trusted
looked at me one day and said, “There is life on other planets,
you know.” Well, since my endless curiosity about everything under
the sun in particular and in the universe in general was still unchecked,
I took the bait. “How do you know that I am interested in that?”
I asked. “The Lord just told me,” he said. I was hooked.
Then he proceeded to tell me that he had a book that told all about
the secrets and mysteries that only those who were “ready”
could understand. “It’s just for the initiated,” he
said. Oozing with curiosity, I begged him to sell me this rare book.
And that is how I came to be the proud owner of “Urantia.”
In less than fifteen minutes of reading into my newly-acquired treasure,
I realized that there was something very bizarre and not a little frightening
about these unusual writings. My mind spun as I flipped through the
pages trying to locate the author. Finally I contacted the retired minister
and quizzed him as to just who the illusive author was. I became agitated
with his nonsensical, fragmented ramblings and gave up. One thing I
knew—no human being had composed this book.
Every time I opened “Urantia” and began reading, the presence
of very tall, evil beings presented themselves. Although invisible to
the natural eye, I knew they were there. They were more “real”
than the furniture in that room. There was only one thing to do, and
that was to find out what the book had to say about who Jesus was and
the salvation He offered through His blood. I turned towards the back
of the book, read the blasphemous teachings about Christ along with
a diatribe of hatred against the Apostle Paul, closed the book and marched
it straight to the garbage can. Of course now I know that “Urantia”
was written by demons posing as “Masters of Wisdom” who
channeled blasphemous “mysteries” through mediums familiar
with automatic writing. “Urantia” can be classified as the
New Age “bible” along with “A Course in Miracles,”
a book which, by the way, many unsuspecting Christians view as a harmless
“Christian” book! I might add another demonically inspired
popular book amongst Christians is “God Calling.” In fact,
any book other than the Holy Bible that is written in the first person,
purporting to be written “by God” is dangerous and should
be destroyed. Never forget that Satan is very adept at counterfeiting.
He counterfeits the scriptures, counterfeits the fruit of the Holy Spirit,
and especially counterfeits the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Beware! Not
everything that is “spiritual” is of God! Satan is a fallen
angel. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after
the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strong holds)” 2 Corinthians
10:3, 4.
Satan, when he appears to the gullible, vulnerable,
ignorant, and unsuspecting seekers of “spiritual experiences”
as an “angel of light”( 2 Corinthians 11:14) offers a beauty
that transfixes, mesmerizes, and deludes. Make no mistake—it is
superhuman, compelling, seductive, and exceedingly powerful! No man
or woman can stand against this great enemy of God in their own flesh
and win. The Bible is very clear: Only those who are in Christ, who
have been washed by His blood, who know Him as their Lord, love Him
above all else (including their own lives), who have a relationship
with Him, and who walk in the Spirit in true humility and reverence
can resist the devil so that he must flee. Jesus said to His disciples,
in Luke 10:19, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing
shall by any means hurt you.” (For further study: Mark 8:33;
16:17; Luke 14:26, 27; Acts 19:13-16; Romans 8:5; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6;
11:3, 4, 14, 15; Galatians 2:20; 5:25; Ephesians 6:11-18; Philippians
2:9-11; 3:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 5:14;
James 4:6-7; Revelation 12:11.)
How I was set free from the influences of the occult
may be controversial to some, but this is how it happened in my life.
One day I listened to a series of tapes by Gene Aven, a committed Christian
evangelist who, before he was saved, was involved in just about every
area of the occult imaginable including Transcendental Meditation and
extensive training by a witch in the black arts. Gene was now a Spirit-filled
believer with a powerful ministry of warning Christians, especially
young people, of the dangers of the occult. As I listened to these tapes,
I began to realize that I needed deliverance from my past involvement,
brief as it was, with anything occult in nature. I immediately phoned
up an evangelist friend and told him that if what I had just listened
to was true, then I was in trouble. I invited both he and his wife to
dinner. Two other witnesses to what occurred were also present that
night, and I shall never forget it. Everything was peaceful and calm,
and we enjoyed a wonderful time of food and fellowship. Finally he turned
to me and said, “Are you ready?” When he said those words,
something inside of me began to tremble uncontrollably. I knew that
it wasn’t me, for I felt a great calm and peace in my spirit.
I stood for prayer and renounced any and all involvement with the occult.
He anointed me with oil, prayed for me, and commanded the spirit to
leave. The terrified spirit immediately left my body; I felt it go,
knew it was gone, and so did the evangelist. The interesting thing is,
the metaphysical “healing” I had experienced years earlier
lifted, and the muscle spasms resumed. I began to understand this phenomenon
after reading Johanna Michaelsen’s wonderful book, “The
Beautiful Side of Evil.”
Other avenues through which the “beauty of evil”
gains inroads into the soul are music, metaphysical healings and other
lying signs and wonders, and vain philosophies that appeal to man’s
intellect. Mystical and/or hypnotic music is powerful as it can totally
open up a person to other spirits, as can movies steeped in the occult
such as “Harry Potter” and “Star Wars.” Healings
of a metaphysical nature appear to be a wonderful and good thing because
suffering in the body is alleviated. High and lofty philosophical thoughts
originating from the “Masters of Wisdom” open up the mind
to “doctrines of demons” through the vain imagination and
conceit of man. Christians must also be especially wary of extreme teachings
that spiritualize the Word of God to the point of “mysticism.”
Jesus is not a mystical, New Age “avatar,” but the only
begotten Son of God—God Incarnate.
It is absolutely essential that we, as Christians,
seek godly character and integrity. Our hearts must be upright and pure
before God so that the “prince of the power of the air”
(Ephesians 2:2) can gain no entrance into our lives. The keeping power
of God was dramatically demonstrated to me one night when a group of
artists that I met when participating in a four-day art exhibit insisted
that I join them in one of their RV’s. After much pressure, I
relented. I regretted my decision as soon as I walked through the door,
for they were intensely focused on one of the artists reading their
fortunes from a deck of cards. I positioned myself in a corner and prayed
to be invisible as one after the other exclaimed in surprise and delight
at how accurate the readings were. Finally, she singled me out and insisted
I was next. I heard myself flatly tell her that it “wouldn’t
work for me.” I inwardly prayed for help. Every eye was glued
to this woman and me. She placed the deck in front of me and said, “Cut
the deck and turn over the card.” The card was a Jack. “Okay,
take the card off the top then,” she instructed. I complied, and
again the card was a Jack. She visibly stiffened in her chair, and in
a terse voice said, “Take the card off the bottom!” When
I pulled out another Jack, she became noticeably agitated, jumped to
her feet and said, “Let’s all go out for coffee and desert.”
For the remainder of the art exhibit she deliberately avoided me. Afterwards,
as I related this in a Bible study, one of the men said, “That
is the only card they cannot read.” I stand amazed to this day
at the power of God to protect us once we determine to walk in accordance
with His Word and will, even when we innocently find ourselves in compromising
situations.
Several years later I had another experience that graphically
demonstrates that neither time nor space exists in the spirit realm.
I was living in Idaho at the time, and the Lord impressed upon me to
go to Arizona and give the Gospel and plan of salvation to a certain
individual whom I had met when I lived there. It took a couple of weeks
to arrive in Phoenix because we pulled our trailer by way of Washington
for some ministry before heading south. Once in Phoenix I walked into
the RV Park where this man worked and stated that God told me to come
to Phoenix to talk to him about his salvation. Needless to say, he was
taken aback but eager to hear what God had to say. We met the following
morning for breakfast, and after I presented the Gospel to him, he said,
“Anna mentioned your name just the other day.” I was startled
because I knew that he was in the habit of consulting a medium by the
name of Anna. He went on, “She was reading my palm, and suddenly
she spelled out your name and said, ‘Do you know this woman?’
I told her, ‘Yes, I do.’” I asked him, “What
else did she say?” and watched a flicker of bewilderment pass
over his face. “Nothing…it’s as if she just couldn’t
see anymore about you.” After this exchange I went on to explain
to him that there is only one right spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit,
and the difference between the Holy Spirit and familiar spirits, demons,
and so forth.
What I learned from this encounter is that a familiar
spirit knew that we were going to Phoenix so that I could, first and
foremost, share the Gospel with this individual. Not being bound by
time or space, it immediately informed the medium so that she could
warn my friend against me. But God intervened and stopped her from receiving
any more information from that familiar spirit. I would love to report
that this man received Christ that day, but he did not. There definitely
was a battle going on in the spirit realm over his soul, and I can only
pray that in the ensuing years he did become a born-again believer in
the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is my sincere prayer that if you have opened yourself
up to the demonic realm through occult practices of any kind, this brief
testimony will be used by God to turn your heart in repentance to the
Lord Jesus Christ who is the “way, the truth, and the life”.
If you are a sincere Christian who would never deliberately expose yourself
to the realm of darkness, but you attend a church or group that practices
inner healing methods involving “visualization” (as opposed
to seeking the Lord for His direction), you have partaken of witchcraft.
If you are accustomed to visualizing or picturing in your mind something
you want to happen, and then maintain that mental image as you concentrate
on it in prayer, this is also the practice of witchcraft known as psychic
prayer. If you get emotionally caught up in repetitious choruses or
chanting, then you have partaken in hypnotic paganism which is derived
from demon worship, and you need to repent. If you have practiced “positive
affirmations” and “positive confession” for the purpose
of control and power in your life, you are guilty of the occult practice
of mind-science, which is based in Hinduism, and you need to repent.
If you have been or are involved in a sign-seeking church that emphasizes
the supernatural you need to separate yourself from it and pray for
the Lord to cleanse you from spiritual perversion and delusion. If you
are, or have been, involved with any person or group who deliberately
curses discerning Christians or ministries, you must renounce such,
or find that you yourself are cursed. If you are experiencing any type
of bondage and loss of liberty in Christ from a controlling leader,
church, or legalistic system you are in a cult and need to flee.
The Bible is clear that there are many other doors
and avenues not discussed here that one can open to the enemy. However,
if you have any concerns, questions, or need help in this area, Gentle
Shepherd Ministries is available to help you in any way that we can.
I leave you with this beautiful portion of scripture: “Nay,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved
us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, not things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”
Romans 8:37-39.
