| Chapter Thirteen - Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Testing the Spirits,
and Spiritual Warfare Before we get to spiritual warfare, I thought it would be helpful to
cover gifts of the Holy Spirit. Once you know that you are dealing with a
demon or fallen angel then spiritual warfare methods would be applicable.
However, I have found in my experiences and research that sometimes the
hardest step is to identify that you in fact having an experience or
encounter with a demon or fallen angel.
Hopefully the summary of modern day activities of demons and fallen
angels in an earlier chapter would help you the reader to identify some
things easily. But demons and fallen angels are liars, and very
intelligent liars.
In an earlier chapter I covered the concept of an “antichrist”, and we
are told that the “spirit of the antichrist” now does exist. Not only
that, but we are told that many people are deceivers and antichrists.
1 Jn 4:3 “And every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that
spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even
now already is it in the world."
2 Jn 1:7 "For many deceivers are entered into the
world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a
deceiver and an antichrist."
Now a person who is an antichrist is someone who has believed, trusted
and followed a spirit of antichrist, and not Jesus the Christ, and who
does not confess that “Jesus the Christ is come in the flesh”. Just like
there are many antichrists, there are also many spirits of antichrist.
These deceptive spirits of antichrist are literally demons and fallen
angels that work for Satan. So “spirit of antichrist” is another term for
a demon or fallen angel.
Antichrists are also called “false prophets”. “False prophets” practice
false prophecy. “False prophecy” is of course in contrast to “prophecy”,
real and true and from God prophecy.
Before going into details about prophecy, one fact about prophecy is
that it is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
There are many gifts of the Holy Spirit that are listed in the Bible,
specifically in the New Testament. These are true gifts from the Holy
Spirit, given to Christians. The important point I want to make right now
is that just like a spirit of antichrist (demons and fallen angels) do
counterfeit the gift of the Holy Spirit of “prophecy”, with a gift of
“false prophecy” (from themselves, demons and fallen angels)… Demons and
fallen angels do also try to counterfeit many if not all of the other
gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Fallen angels and demons (who are antichrist spirits) will and do
counterfeit the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For every “true gift of the Holy
Spirit”, there is potentially also a “false gift of the antichrist” which
is what occurs when demons and fallen angels try to counterfeit a gift of
the Holy Spirit.
This is one reason why the Bible teaches emphatically,
1 Jn 4:1-3 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false
prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is
from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God;
and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it
is coming, and now it is already in the world.”
As Christians, the responsibility that the Bible teaches is placed on
us is for us to test the spirits. The Bible teaches us that a spirit of
the antichrist will not confess that Jesus the Christ has come in the
flesh, and that a spirit from God will confess that Jesus the Christ has
come in the flesh. We also read,
1 Cor 12:1-3 “Now about spiritual gifts,
brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were
pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.
Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God
says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by
the Holy Spirit.”
And from this we are given an obvious clarification that a spirit that
curses Jesus is not from God, and that no one can say, “Jesus is Lord” but
by the Holy Spirit. A spirit that curses Jesus would seem an obvious and
easy to recognize counterfeit, by which you would know that spirit has
failed your test of that spirit. Knowing a spirit has passed the other
test isn’t as easy and obvious.
It is tantamount in importance, when you are dealing with a spirit,
that you understand what “Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh” means.
Otherwise you cannot discern, by questioning a spirit, if they are
confessing Him as such or not.
You must know who Jesus the Christ is, and who He is not.
Let’s say a spirit talks to you telepathically, and you ask them “Do
you confess Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh?” and that Spirit
responds, “Yes, Jesus has come in the flesh”. Is this a spirit from God?
Do you see what’s wrong above? No, this spirit is not from God- because
this spirit did not acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the
foretold Messiah and everlasting King. From what this spirit said, they
might have been talking about any other Jesus who ever lived- they could
be referencing to some man named Jesus currently living in Mexico, there
are many men by that name there.
Let’s say the spirit answers in a way that seems satisfactory to you at
first. Perhaps it is time to ask another question before you trust this
spirit… so you ask, “Who is Jesus the Christ?”
And the spirit responds, “Jesus is the 4th great Christ, the spirit of
the reincarnated Christ.” WRONG
NO! There is no reincarnation. And “Christ” only refers to Jesus the
Messiah, there have been none before and will be no other.
And the spirit responds, “Who you call Jesus the Christ was a great
prophet and A son of God.” WRONG AGAIN, Jesus the Christ was the only
begotten Son of God. Not “a” son of God. Jesus the Christ is THE Son of
God.
These may seem basic to you, but there are a lot of people out there
that trust too willingly. As the children’s song says, “Be careful little
heart who you trust.” You must be on your guard. Another Highly important
thing to keep in mind is that Jesus is the “Word” of God. The Bible is
also the “Word of God”. Jesus said:
Matt 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish
the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”
What does this mean? It means that the Holy Spirit of Jesus, and any
true spirit from God (like a Holy angel) is never going to teach, do or
say, or try to get you to teach, do or say ANYTHING that is contrary to
the Bible. People say, “The best defense is a good offense”. Something
that is absolutely invaluable in “testing the spirits” to tell if they are
of God or of Satan, is to know what the Bible teaches. To know the entire
Bible, you need to read the entire Bible. Once you have read something in
the Bible, the Holy Spirit will help you retain it.
Heb 10:14-17 “For by one offering He has
perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also
bears witness to us; for after saying, "THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL
MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON
THEIR HEART, AND UPON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM," He then says, "AND
THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE."
Jn 14:26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will
remind you of everything I have said to you.”
The Holy Spirit will remind us of what is taught in the Bible, and
teach us all things. God will put His laws on your heart and write His
laws on your mind. It just makes it so much easier for us if we actually
read the Bible. It is time well spent. You do not need to actually
memorize the Bible to learn and be reminded by the Holy Spirit of what you
have read, for Jesus told us the Holy Spirit will remind us of all that He
has said. Reading the Bible, especially the whole Bible, is invaluable in
“testing the spirits”.
Now that we’ve covered some basics about testing the spirits, I want to
go into both the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and also cover some counterfeit
false gifts from a spirit of the antichrist (demons and fallen angels).
What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Some key verses tell us what
they are, and some about what they are like, and why they are given:
Rom 12:6-8 “We have different gifts, according to
the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in
proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is
teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is
contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is
leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do
it cheerfully.”
Eph 4:11-16 “And He gave some as apostles, and
some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and
teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the
building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the
measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a
result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves,
and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by
craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are
to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from
whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every
joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part,
causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
1 Cor 12:4-12 “There are different kinds of
gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the
same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works
all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is
given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the
message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the
same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of
healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another
prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking
in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of
tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives
them to each one, just as he determines. The body is a unit, though it is
made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one
body. So it is with Christ.”
1 Cor 12:28-13:3 “And in the church God has
appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then
workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to
help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in
different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all
teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak
in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And
now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of
men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a
clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all
mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move
mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the
poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain
nothing.”
1 Cor 14:1-6 “Follow the way of love and eagerly
desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who
speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one
understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who
prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and
comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies
edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but
I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one
who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be
edified. Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good
will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or
prophecy or word of instruction?”
1 Cor 14:12-33 “So it is with you. Since you are
eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the
church. For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he
may interpret what he says. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays,
but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit,
but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will
also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with your spirit, how can
one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your
thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? You may be
giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. I thank God
that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would
rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand
words in a tongue. Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to
evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. In the Law it is written:
"Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will
speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me," says the
Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers;
prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. So if the whole
church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not
understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out
of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand
comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that
he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart
will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God
is really among you!" What then shall we say, brothers? When you come
together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a
tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the
strengthening of the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two--or at the
most three--should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If
there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and
speak to himself and God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the
others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to
someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can
all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.
The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is
not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the congregations of the
saints.”
1 Cor 7:7-8 “Yet I wish that all men were even as
I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this
manner, and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to widows that
it is good for them if they remain even as I.” “Gift of celibacy”
Eph 3:6-8 “to be specific, that the Gentiles are
fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the
promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a
minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me
according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all
saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable
riches of Christ” (apostleship/evangelist)
So what are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Here’s a list, in Biblical
order (or as close as I could figure it):
Apostleship, prophecy, teaching, pasturing, evangelism, miracles,
healing, faith, distinguishing between spirits or discerning of spirits,
message of wisdom, message of knowledge, serving, encouraging/exhortation,
contributing to the needs of others or giving, showing mercy, leadership
or governing, celibacy, interpretation of tongues, speaking in different
kinds of tongues.
As I count them, there are 19 gifts of the Holy Spirit. Some people
have more than one gift, but every Christian has at least one gift. The
Holy Spirit chooses what gift to give a Christian, and the person
themselves does not get to choose their gift. People can of course ask for
a particular gift, but sometimes they will not be given that gift. The
important thing to remember is that each gift is important and needed and
special and is a gift and a blessing from God.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit are used to build up and help the church, both
inside, and in its growth, and accomplishing the great commission of
spreading the gospel of Jesus the Christ.
In distinguishing between true gifts of the Holy Spirit and false gifts
of the spirit of antichrist (demons and fallen angels), there are some
things to keep in mind. One thing is that a supernatural “gift” which is
apart from the Christian church, and apart from Jesus Christ, and brings
glory to some other person or being besides Jesus the Christ and God the
Father, is a gift to be considered a false gift. A gift which leads one to
get involved with magic, worshipping angels, the occult, witchcraft,
practices of divination, etc. is not a gift of the Holy Spirit.
There are so many ways and possibilities for how a false gift of the
spirit of antichrist could look, that the best I can do is give some
examples.
I personally don’t have the gift of speaking in tongues, but I have
been around other Christians who do speak in tongues. As a new Christian,
I prayed for discernment of spirits, and I believe God gave me that gift
actively at times. Some of the Christians I have heard speaking in
tongues, I believe they were doing it of their own accord, trying to fit
in. Some I felt strongly were under demonic influence. Others, on a more
rare occasion, I felt strongly were truly speaking in tongues, and the
Holy Spirit gave me a feeling of strong confirmation of this.
The ones who seemed to be speaking in tongues from demonic influence (a
gift of the spirit of the antichrist) were often disruptive during a
pastor’s sermon, one person actually interrupted the sermon to speak in
tongues, and others shook or fell down on the floor in a way that was very
disruptive. And the sound of the language sometimes seemed to be a real
language, and other times seemed to be just sounds that in my spirit I
perceived as shrill. And usually there was no one to interpret. On one
occasion I remember, there was an interpretation, which may have also been
false. Though it mentioned God and Jesus in a glorifying way, most of the
interpretation was about how God wanted to give us great power, and how
there was power in us, from what I remember. It either did or came very
close to saying we ourselves have the power… instead of that God has the
power. In any case, most of the interpretation was about our great power,
and not about God and His great power. Though I cant say for sure if this
was a false gift of interpretation, there exists also a false gift of
interpretation I am sure. But some real tongues I have also heard
interpreted for real, and it is beautiful.
Jesus told us the way to tell is by looking at the fruit of something,
if it produces bad fruit, then it is bad.
Matt 7:15-27 "Beware of the false prophets, who
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. "You
will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes,
nor figs from thistles, are they? "Even so, every good tree bears good
fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot produce bad
fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. "Every tree that does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "So then, you will
know them by their fruits. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father
who is in heaven. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your
name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never
knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' "Therefore
everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be
compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. "And the rain
descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that
house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
"And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them,
will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. "And the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against
that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
There are counterfeits of many gifts, and being open to a counterfeit
false gift is often a result of wanting to have that gift, but not having
been given it by the Holy Spirit. I think a good example is the gift of
giving. Some people have been blessed with wealth as Christians, and they
can afford to give generously and without feeling bad about it. Other
Christians are poor, and need to keep good stewardship in mind in taking
care of their own needs and the needs of their families. Some Christian
people teach that if you start to tithe a great amount of money that God
will bless you with more wealth in income, to make up the difference. Let
me tell you from experience, this never worked for me when I tried it, and
in hindsight I can see there was a demonic influence on me from believing
this teaching, and I do think this is a demonically inspired teaching.
Being able to give generously is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Remember this:
Luke 21:1-4 “And He looked up and saw the rich
putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a certain poor widow
putting in two small copper coins. And He said, "Truly I say to you, this
poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus
put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had
to live on.”
Jesus taught there is a difference between surplus money, and money
that you need to live on. Let’s say you are poor, and after your living
expenses are deducted from your income, you have $5 left as surplus. And
you give it all to Jesus’ work. A rich person has $2000 dollars as
surplus, and they put $1000 towards Jesus’ work. Who put in more money in
God’s sight? The poor person put more money in. The entire surplus of a
poor Christian is counted as more in comparison to half of the surplus of
a rich Christian. If they both have put in their entire surplus, they have
given the same amount in God’s sight. If you are so poor that you are in
debt to anyone, and have a negative cash flow every month, or have no
money leftover after what you need to survive on, if you put even 2
pennies in for the Lord’s work, then you will out-give the richest member
of your church who puts in a large part of his surplus.
Giving is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and being able to give generously
in God’s sight, whether it is 2 pennies or 2 grand, has absolutely nothing
to do with tithing or 10% of your income. Sometimes God wants the poor
Christians to not give, and stay afloat and be self-sufficient, and for
the rich Christians in the church to give more. Also, sometimes God
doesn’t approve of what church leadership is spending its money on, as
they pressure the people of that church to give 10% of their income
(whether they can afford it or not), in order to cover the expenses of
things the leadership desire, things that God may not desire. (If you are
tithing into debt, praying God would send more money, and He is not, then
my advice to you is to stop tithing into debt.) If you believe in the
doctrine of tithing, and I have offended you, I am sorry, and I hope you
will not disregard all I have to say based on this one point, and I also
caution you to examine this teaching more closely. As Jesus taught, the
poor will always be with you, and that is true of Christians who are poor
as well...
How about contributing to the needs of others? In truth this is a very
rewarding gift. It also has a counterfeit. Sometimes God wants you to help
out others with their needs, but this is a far cry from being taken
advantage of by a person who is using you to support them- especially if
it is seriously to your detriment. For instance, God may want you to use
this gift to give a Christian a place to stay for a while, and let them
live with you. It becomes another matter if they are bringing illegal
drugs or witchcraft into your house, around your family, or making
outrageous or threatening demands of you, and your money.
There are real apostles, who have a gift in planting and running new
churches. When God gives a person this gift, it is fantastic. However,
there are plenty of secular people who also plant and lead new churches,
which are not Christian, churches, and which spread a false gospel. Also,
some people are gifted with being missionaries to other lands. While some
Christians, as much as they think they could be missionaries and would
like to be missionaries, are not gifted in this way, and would hate it and
quit once they got to another land, or would be ineffective. Also there
are some people who would like to be missionaries, but cannot leave their
country for medical reasons. One can have a gift of evangelism and use it
anywhere (and by the charge of the Great Commission this is something all
Christians should do and can do), but to be an apostle/missionary to
another land and plant a church there is a different gift.
There are some Christians with a gift of teaching, and they are good at
it, and know good and truthful material to teach, sound and Biblical
material. Then there are Christians who do not have sound teaching, but
very much want to be a teacher, sometimes to be “looked up to” (the same
goes for any other gift that people in a given particular church esteem in
such a way), and sometimes because they want to have other Christians who
will agree with them so they don’t feel alone in their ideas and beliefs,
to fit in, and there are other reasons as well. And then there are
unbelievers who teach all manner of lies. There is a false gift of
teaching, and like all false gifts, it does not help but harms the body of
Christ, and the world. The best way to tell a false teacher is by looking
at what they are teaching, and using the Bible, determine if it is true or
false teaching. If they teach false teachings then it means you have a
false teacher, with a false gift of teaching from a spirit of antichrist,
especially in reference to unbelievers. But there is a great deal of
difference between a Christian who is right about many things, but wrong
on a few points, and a Christian who is very wrong about most things. The
Bible tells us:
James 3:1-2 “Let not many of you become teachers,
my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. For
we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says,
he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.”
The Bible tells us we all do stumble, including teachers (and apostles,
and prophets, and pastors, etc.) The Bible tells us that it is a choice to
become an official teacher. This is verses casual teaching with those
Christians around you in the course of daily life.
Being a teacher is closely tied to being a learner, as before you have
anything to teach, you must learn. If a Christian has a gift of teaching,
they must first make sure they are learned enough to be competent at
teaching whatever they are teaching. For Christians, the Bible itself, and
especially doctrine, are the major subjects of teaching in the church.
There is a big difference between a teacher who has studied in detail, and
really knows what they are talking about, and one who has not. And there
is a big difference between a Christian, who has the gift of teaching, but
has become known as a teacher too soon, or without first earnestly
studying and learning what they want to teach, and a person with a false
gift of teaching from a spirit of antichrist. There is a difference
between making little mistakes and stumblings, which should bring about
help, grace, correction, and forgiveness from the church, and large
mistakes from which a teacher refuses to repent of and correct.
Today in the Christian churches (all of them), there are great divides
over many points of doctrine- though we are all in agreement on the major
points of Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for us, and resurrection, and
other major points of faith. Truly, the more minor a point may seem, the
easier it is to disagree on it.
Ultimately if you need to know correct doctrine on a minor point, you
need to read what the Bible teaches on that subject- and all of what it
teaches on that subject (every applicable verse)- and look at the original
languages and different translations- and interpret the Bible with
internal consistency- to arrive at the correct doctrine. These steps are
essential. Teachers who have not done all of these steps, all of this
studying, and put in all of this thought, are more likely to be incorrect
in what they are teaching. Some people claim they have done all of this
work, but have not, and a teacher who lies like this is more likely to be
a false teacher. But a false teacher is a wolf in sheep’s clothing- they
will look like a sheep. They will use the Bible and sound Christian. So in
determining what doctrine you will chose to believe, it is good to look
around and examine all different points of view that different Christians
have, using logic and reasoning, to decide if their explanations from the
Bible are solid and have merit. The Bible itself is the best tool to use
in thinking through a particular doctrine that is suspect to be a false
teaching. Another way to discern between a person with a gift of teaching
from the Holy Spirit, and a false gift of teaching from a spirit of
antichrist, is to pray for the gift of discernment from the Holy Spirit,
to determine if a teacher has a true gift of teaching or a false gift of
teaching from a spirit of antichrist.
In this I want to point out that the body is designed to function
together as a whole- we really do need each other. We all need teachers,
we all need discerners of spirits, and apostles, and givers, and speaker
in tongues, and interpreters for those speakers, and truly we all do need
each other.
Another gift is prophecy. There is a lot of varying opinion about what
prophecy includes. Some things include visions and dreams, of the present,
past, or future. Some people say the gift of prophecy in the New Testament
is different than the gift in the Old Testament. Some people say that true
prophecy does not today include messages of repentance or else there will
be destruction (like with Jonah). Some people say prophecy today is only
used to convict people of their sin by touching them with miraculous
knowledge about themselves, or knowing just what to say to them to help
them feel conviction that leads to repentance. In addition to the earlier
verses pertaining to prophecy, we also read:
Act 2:17-18 “ 'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,'
God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT UPON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR
SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE
VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN UPON MY BONDSLAVES,
BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they
shall prophesy.”
Num 12:6 “He said, "Hear now My words: If there
is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a
vision. I shall speak with him in a dream.”
Amos 3:7 “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing
without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”
The word “prophecy” as used in the Bible must be defined by what the
Bible teaches about it. We cannot just make up our own definition of the
word “prophecy” based on what we would like it to be.
Prophecy is of the past, present, or future. Prophecy does take the
forms of dreams and visions. It is a matter of getting a message from God,
and I personally will not limit how it looks when it happens. What I will
say is that the content of the message, compared to the Bible, must be
examined in testing the spirits to tell if a prophecy is from God or not,
and in having this gift the confirmation of the Holy Spirit is also
vitally important.
There are other Biblical standards for prophecy:
Deut 18:20-22 “But the prophet who shall speak a
word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or
which he shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.'
"And you may say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD
has not spoken?' "When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the
thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD
has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be
afraid of him.”
Deut 13:1-5 "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams
arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the
wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go
after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' you
shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams;
for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your
God with all your heart and with all your soul. "You shall follow the LORD
your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His
voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. "But that prophet or that dreamer of
dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against
the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you
from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD
your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among
you.”
1 Sam 3:19-20 “Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was
with him and let none of his words fail. And all Israel from Dan even to
Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.”
The message of future things from a true prophet, with the true gift of
prophecy, will come to pass as the prophet foretold. The words of a true
prophet with a true gift of prophecy will not fail. A true prophet of God
with a true gift of prophecy will not encourage the worship or service of
other gods, period. We learn that even a false prophet can potentially
have a sign or wonder that comes true, but that prophet will be known to
be false by the fact that he encourages the worship or service of other
gods- not the Lord God or Jesus the Christ. Indeed, some people miss that
the Bible teaches this, and only qualify that the message of the prophet
will come true… but sometimes demons and fallen angels can give (albeit
limited) information about the future and give false prophecy. Though many
times the message of a false prophet about the future will only come to
pass partially, or vaguely. Messages from God will come to pass as God
said, in every detail that God gave, and if there is a repentance
condition then that will be fulfilled consistently also, as God said in
His message.
False prophecy will also sometimes take a tormenting form, in which a
person is pushed to do things that violate the Ten Commandments, or other
directions given in scripture, and this is a way to determine false
prophecy- by it pushing a person to violate clear Biblical laws of what is
sin. God is consistent, and He will not ask or push His people to sin.
So as the Bible teaches, with prophecy,
1 Cor 14:29 “And let two or three prophets speak,
and let the others pass judgment.”
The term here “pass judgment” in the Greek is “diakrino” (1252), to
discern, separate, make a distinction, try, or decide. This is from the
same root word as “diakrisis”(1253) which is used in 1 Cor 12:10 in the
gift of “discerning of spirits”. So we are actually told in the Bible that
after someone prophesies, that others are to discern regarding the
prophecy.
So we as Christians must test the spirits. The better we know the
Bible, and what the Bible says about testing the spirits, the more we pray
for discernment, and the closer we draw to the Lord Jesus, the better we
will be at testing the spirits.
If a person is having an interaction or attack from a demon or fallen
angel, whether it assumes the form of a spirit of antichrist in
particular, or not, there are spiritual warfare methods that will help.
The first step is identifying that you are dealing with a demon or fallen
angel, in whatever manner or form they take.
“Spiritual Warfare” is called such because truly we are all in the
middle of a spiritual war.
Rev 12: 12,17 "For this reason, rejoice, O
heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because
the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has
only a short time." So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off
to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of
God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
For the last 2000 years, a war has been actively waging on earth
between Satan, and the fallen angels and demons under Satan, against Jesus
and Christians. Christians are those who “keep the commandments of God,
and hold to the testimony of Jesus”. The apostles and early Christians
understood this was the situation, and spoke numerous times of the
situation, and gave instruction for spiritual warfare, and how to best
deal with the situation as Christians.
The fallen angels are also known as "glorious ones" in this following
passage from Peter (distinguished from Holy angels which are just called
“angels”), wherein we see that many people did not (and still don't)
understand the current situation:
2 Pet 2:10-12 “He is especially hard on those who
follow their own evil, lustful desires and who despise authority. These
people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at the glorious ones
without so much as trembling. But the angels, even though they are far
greater in power and strength than these false teachers, never speak out
disrespectfully against the glorious ones. These false teachers are like
unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, who are born to be caught and
killed. They laugh at the terrifying powers they know so little about, and
they will be destroyed along with them.”
The term "glorious ones" is meant in the sense of a "glow" or in modern
terminology, "glory". This comes from the Greek “epaphrodito” or "upon
aphrodite". Aphrodite is the Greek term for Venus, which is the "star of
the morning", a term which is used of Satan in Isaiah 14. Thus
“epaphrodito” means "Upon the star of the morning", as the fallen angels
have counted themselves “in” with Satan, the "star of the morning".
That the “glorious ones” are fallen angels is confirmed in Jude:
Jude 1: 8-10 "Yet these false teachers, who claim
authority from their dreams, live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff
at the power of the glorious ones. But even Michael, one of the mightiest
of the angels, did not dare bring a blasphemous accusation against Satan,
but simply said, "The Lord rebuke you." (This took place when Michael was
arguing with Satan about Moses' body.) But these people blaspheme the
things they do not understand. Like animals, they do whatever their
instincts tell them, and they bring about their own destruction."
Here we see that the “glorious ones” are compared directly to Satan, a
fallen angel, and the leader of the fallen angels.
We are cautioned, as Christians, to not be like those who will be
destroyed. We are not to laugh at the "terrifying powers" that be, the
"glorious ones", the fallen angels. We are not to speak out
disrespectfully against them. The key word there is "disrespectfully". But
everywhere there is darkness we are to expose it with light, which often
requires the action of speaking out.
It is pointed out that we should not "scoff at the power of the
glorious ones". We also should not "blaspheme the things we do not
understand", which could be applied generally.
What is blasphemy? Here's some hopefully helpful definitions from the
dictionary: "the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of
God", "from Gk. blasphemia "profane, speech, slander," from blasphemein
"to speak evil of." Second element is pheme "utterance"".
What is to blaspheme? Definitions: "utter obscenities or profanities",
"speak of in an irreverent or impious manner".
What is blasphemous? Definition: from Thayer’s we get, "speaking evil,
slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive".
Probably the most helpful definition is “the crime of assuming to
oneself the rights or qualities of God”.
I would also like to point out something Paul said:
Gal 1:8 "But even if we, or an angel from heaven,
should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you,
let him be accursed!"
One thing that I notice is that Michael thought it was the Lord's place
to rebuke Satan, not his place. Paul said, “let him be accursed” but did
not say, “I curse him”. Michael, a powerful archangel said “The Lord
rebuke you.” Not “I rebuke you.” That is an example to us. We are able to
cast out demons in Jesus' name, as the Gospels describe. This is similar,
and I think the point here is to in realism and humility realize we are
powerless apart from Jesus and God's protection of us, and on our own
weaker than these fallen angels present on the Earth, and we should be
apprehensive of those facts, and act and speak accordingly.
Our power comes from Jesus the Christ, and from God the Father, and not
from ourselves. We see above when dealing with fallen angels (Satan in
this example) that even the Holy archangel Michael (a powerful angel) did
not say, “I rebuke you” but rather said “The Lord rebuke you.” Michael
realistically understood that the Lord God is the one with the power, and
the Lord, Jesus the Christ is also referenced here, and Michael called on
the Lord, requested and asked that the Lord rebuke the fallen angel.
Michael understood it was not his place or “right” to rebuke Satan, but
rather that it was God’s place and “right” to rebuke Satan. Looking at the
definition of blaspheme above, this makes a lot of sense. It is something
Christians may slightly do in their choice of wording, in ignorance, but
it is blasphemous as a Christian to assume you have the right and place to
rebuke fallen angels yourself apart from being under the given authority
of Lord Jesus the Christ and the Lord God the Father.
We are to follow this example, whether it comes to demons or fallen
angels. As this passage illustrates, there is a wrong way to do this:
Acts 19:11-16 "God was performing extraordinary
miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even
carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil
spirits went out. But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from
place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the
name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul
preaches." Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing
this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus,
and I know about Paul, but who are you?" And the man, in whom was the evil
spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so
that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."
We are not to have a spirit of fear, but at the same time we need to be
apprehensive of who really has power over fallen angels and demons: it is
not us, but the Lord Jesus Christ, and us only through Him. Jesus has
given us authority as his disciples, but we need to use it correctly, as
given authority, in His name.
Luke 10:17-20 “And the seventy returned with joy,
saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." And He
said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
"Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you.
"Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."
As such, when it comes to dealing with the enemy spirits of Satan in
this spiritual war that is waging all around us, I think it best to follow
Jesus' example and instructions.
But we need to keep in mind that when Jesus rebuked demons and Satan,
that Jesus was the Son of God. All of our power over the enemy comes
through Jesus. While Jesus said, “Come out of that person”, we are doing
so under the authority Jesus has given us, and under His authority, and
under the name of Jesus.
Now I am not a deliverance minister, though I have practiced what is
called “self-deliverance” in Jesus’ name and under His authority. Praise
the Lord Jesus! But I am not an expert on deliverance ministry. Please see
the Resources section for more information from Christians who do practice
deliverance ministry and are much more experienced than I am. Yet I do
know that they teach as I state above, and this I found worked for me,
that we only have authority over the enemy when we are under the Lord
Jesus, under His blood, and under His name, and what part we can do we do
successfully only under the authority and in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
There are many examples of Jesus casting out demons throughout the
gospels. Jesus also told his followers to cast out demons. The point I am
making is also shown in Mark 9:16-29:
“And He asked them, "What are you discussing with
them?" And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son,
possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him,
it dashes him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his
teeth, and stiffens out. And I told Your disciples to cast it out, and
they could not do it." And He answered^ them and said^, "O unbelieving
generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with
you? Bring him to Me!" And they brought the boy to Him. And when he saw
Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to
the ground, he began rolling about and foaming at the mouth. And He asked
his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From
childhood. "And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the
water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help
us!" And Jesus said to him, "'If You can!' All things are possible to him
who believes." Immediately the boy's father cried out and began saying, "I
do believe; help my unbelief." And when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly
gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and dumb
spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again." And
after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out;
and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is
dead!" But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. And
when He had come into the house, His disciples began questioning Him
privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And He said to them, "This kind
cannot come out by anything but prayer."
What this shows us is that some evil spirits can only come out with
prayer. (This is also something to keep in mind as applicable for some
“self-deliverance situations”.) In other words, we must ask the Lord God
and the Lord Jesus to make the evil spirit come out, and not enter in
again or leave. By saying “The Lord Jesus rebuke you” a person can pray to
the Lord Jesus as they say it, pray out loud, and be asking Jesus to make
the evil spirit come out and stay out, as they address the evil spirit in
Jesus’ name. Though some deliverances require much prayer beforehand and
during the deliverance than that. Calling out to Jesus, “Jesus!” also is
prayer to Jesus.
We read how the apostle Paul would cast out a demon; the correct way to
do this is seen in Paul’s choice of words:
Acts 16:18 “And she continued doing this for many
days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I
command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came
out at that very moment."
Where Jesus said, “I command you to come out”, we must recognize we are
under Jesus’ authority and say "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ
to come out.” Where Jesus could say, “I rebuke you”, we would say “The
Lord Jesus rebuke you.”
Speaking of addressing demons, I find it important to note that Jesus
himself did not have much dialog with demons that he was casting out of
people. Jesus asked demons their name.
Mark 5:9 “And He was asking him, "What is your
name?" And he said to Him, "My name is Legion; for we are many."
Jesus told demons to be quiet.
Mark 1:25 “And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be
quiet, and come out of him!"
And most importantly Jesus told demons to come out. As seen above with
Paul, the early church closely followed the example that Jesus set. Jesus
said,
Mark 16:17-18 "And these signs will accompany
those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will
speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any
deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick,
and they will recover."
I think there is something noteworthy here, in that we are to cast out
demons in Jesus name, but that does not mean we should have lengthy
conversations with them or listen to them or take heed of things they say.
When it comes to fallen angels in specific, in addition to the methods
above, we are told that Jesus resisted Satan with scripture, and told him
to get away.
Matt 4:1-11 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted
forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came
and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones
become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT
LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF
GOD.'" Then the devil took^ Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand
on the pinnacle of the temple, and said^ to Him, "If You are the Son of
God throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS
CHARGE CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, LEST
YOU STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'" Jesus said to him, "On the other
hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'"
Again, the devil took^ Him to a very high mountain, and showed^ Him all
the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these
things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said^
to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD
YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" Then the devil left^ Him; and behold,
angels came and began to minister to Him.”
We are told in James 4:7 “Submit therefore to
God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” This applies not
only to "the" devil, Satan, but also to the other fallen angels. In Luke
10 Jesus said he has given to his disciples “authority… over all the power
of the enemy”, and this includes demons and fallen angels.
Indeed, we are in a spiritual war, and these are the basic things
Christians need to know about spiritual warfare. We in this battle we are
told to put on the full armor of God.
Eph 6:10-20 “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and
in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may
be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle
is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual
forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full
armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having
done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR
LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and
having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in
addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able
to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take THE
HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and
with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for
all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me
in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the
gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I
may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
The Bible teaches about spiritual warfare. We do not have to go
anywhere to be on the front lines, and we do not need to provoke to start
the violence of this war, for Satan has gone off to make war against us.
The violence is all around us, and we are on the front lines in one way or
form or another. This war is present. This war is raging on around us, and
against each of us, all the time. And our effectiveness as Christians in
reaching the lost, as the church, is in many ways dependent on our
effectiveness in becoming spiritual warriors whom practice Biblical
spiritual warfare under our Savior and King, Jesus the Christ.
Please see the resources section for more educational information and
testimonies to study on this essential for the church topic of spiritual
warfare and deliverance ministry.
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