SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

I. INTRODUCTION

In this modern day and age it is fashionable not to believe in the existence of Satan or any of his fallen angels or demonic spirits. That Satan and they exist is not a matter of conjecture. It is a biblical FACT. Those who deny this and summarily disregard the revelation of scripture have a problem with UNBELIEF and a problem with FAITH in the TRUTH of the Bible and need to re-examine themselves and deal with themselves accordingly (Lam. 3:40) for the real problem is unbelief and the unwillingness to take God at His word which is His very INTEGRITY and HONESTY. Unknowingly, we can insult the Holy Spirit, the spirit of revelation.

It is a matter of REVELATION that all scripture is GIVEN by INSPIRATION from God. The New Testament Greek Word for “inspired” means “God-breathed”. That is, all SCRIPTURE is DIRECT REVELATION from the Holy Spirit through the minds of the apostles and prophets. It is, therefore, FACT. God tells us things AS THEY ARE. Things are NOT necessarily WHAT WE THINK they are. Can God be trusted to tell us the FACTS? Of course! Romans 3:4 tells us”.. . let God be TRUE but every man a liar. . .“, and Numbers 23:19 tells us “. . . God is not a man that He should lie. . .“ (NASV).

Given these considerations, it is quite difficult to deny that Satan and his kingdom exist. Some say, “I don’t believe Satan exists!”. Well, Jesus did. And He called him and his evil spirits BY NAME and even TALKED to them! And Jesus ought to know, for He is the Son of God and He IS God.

So, Satan exists. It’s a matter of divine revelation. And he doesn’t want you to know it or believe it. As a matter of fact, Satan puts great effort into trying to minister UNBELIEF to all people and, in particular, there are three things that he ministers to the minds of all people through his demonic spirits who minister to our thought-life, and these are 3 THINGS that he wants every person in existence to believe:

1) That God does not exist.

2) That he (Satan) does not exist.

3) That there is NO HURRY TO DO anything.

By so doing, he “sets up” people, young and old, to harvest their souls. And he is very good at what he does because he works through SEDUCTION and DECEPTION to make the things of his “creation” look:

1) so desirable

2) so reasonable

3) so necessary

but through the witness of the Spirit to our spirit (Romans 8:16) ... “...we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Cor. 2:11).

The admonition of scripture, then, is that we are NOT to be ignorant of things regarding him. One of his lies to the Christian Church has been the ministry of the idea “don’t talk about Satan, it gives him glory”.

Can you imagine the state the world would be in today if, during World War II, our military intelligence decided that it did not want to talk about Hitler or the Nazis or direct any attention to them? Indeed, it was knowledge of them and alertness to what they were doing and the ability to RESIST THEM that led to their defeat. And so, it is with the warfare with Satan, for we learn from the Scriptures that was goes on the earth is a reflection of the war still going on in the heavenlies (Dan. 10).

II. THE PROBLEM OF SATAN

1. Who is Satan?

Scripture tells us that he is a fallen archangel whose name was Lucifer (“light-bearer”) and that when he fell, God changed his name to Satan (“deceiver” or “adversary”).

2. Satan’s sin and fall

Satan’s sin and fall is described in the following scripture passages:

• Isaiah 14:12-17 “12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. 16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, 17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’”

• Ezekiel 28:12-19 “12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. 16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wi…”

3. When Satan fell

When satan fell, where was he cast down? The answer is that he was cast down to the earth and that his kingdom now exists ON THE EARTH and in the atmospheric heaven above the earth.

• Luke 10:18 • Revelation 12:9,10 • Daniel 10

4. Where is his throne?

According to Revelation it is Pergamos, Turkey (Rev. 2:13)

5. He “walks to and fro”

He walks to and fro(back and forth) upon the earth to “patrol” it for his purpose and advantage. (Job 1:6-9; Job 2:1,2)

III. SATAN

A. THE FALL- What happened in heaven? • Ezekiel 28:11-19 • Isaiah 14:12-17

1) Satan’s sin was rebellion against God. In Isaiah 14:13,14 we are told of his 5 “1 will’s” by which he intended to be like God.

2) Satan was cast down to the earth. Jesus witnessed it:

• Luke 10:18

• Rev. 12:9,10

• and 1/3 of the heavenly host fell with him and were cast down to the earth also:

• Rev. 12:4

3) Satan’s kingdom, according to the revelations given DIRECTLY by Jesus, is now ON THE EARTH:

-He roams the earth and patrols it -Job 1:6-9; Job 2:1-2

-He also tries to control the atmospheric heaven surrounding the earth’s surface and resists the Lord’s angels sent to minister to man and answer prayer. We see all of this in Daniel 10:12-21. Here we see the clear picture of spiritual warfare. Daniel and the Israelites are held captive in Babylon and Daniel has prayed for relief and rescue. The angel Gabriel comes and answers him, telling him that his prayer was heard on the first day it was prayed and he attempted to come to him (Daniel) but the PRINCE OF PERSIA RESISTED Gabriel for 21 days on his way down. Where did he try to stop him? In the atmosphere above the earth as he was descending from heaven.

• Note that the Prince of Persia is NOT a human prince, for no man could withstand and angel. In the New Testament Greek, the term “archon”, from the verb “archo” which means “to rule”, means “prince” or “ruler”. The ruler spirits mentioned in Ephesians 6:12 are these Princes. They are among the Principalities ruling over nations and their activities. Notice that in Daniel 10:13 Gabriel reveals that he was also left to contend with the “Kings of Persia”. These probably refer to the higher ranking “generals” in Satan’s hierarchy referred to in Eph. 6:12 as the “wicked spirits who dwell in high places”.

• It is interesting to note that during deliverance, ruler spirits over the oppressed person being ministered to often refer to themselves as “princes” or “kings” or “rulers” when being cast out by name.

• Note that in Daniel 10:13 that the Archangel Michael is named as the Prince of Israel, that is, God’s guardian-protector over Israel, and in verse 21 he is referred to as “your prince”. Michael, therefore, is the guardian of believers since Daniel was a type of the true believer and Israel was and Old Testament type of the church.

• Note that in Daniel 10:20 Gabriel warns that he will return to fight the Prince of Persia (persistent “little” devil, isn’t he?) and warns that the Prince of Greece, the demon ruler spirit or principality spirit over Greece was coming, probably to assist the Prince of Persia.

• Note in Daniel 10:21 that Gabriel reveals that he and Michael, ALONE, do battle with ALL the principalities.

Lessons learned from Daniel 10:

1) There is a spiritual war going on in the heavenlies

for control of the earth and man at the same time that there is a human struggle upon the earth.

2) Prayer is heard and acted upon IMMEDIATELY.

3) Things experienced in the natural earthly realm

are the product and results of battles going on in the spiritual realm FIRST. That is, things in the realm of the spirit go from the spiritual first down to the natural or earthly realm.

4) There is a hierarchy of demonic spirits and fallen angels

who attempts to control the earth and block answered prayer.

5) Life on this earth is spiritual warfare FIRST.

See Eph. 6:12-16. 3. His headquarters on the earth, that is, where his throne is, is at Pergamos (Pergamum), Turkey, according to divine revelation. (Rev. 2:13)

B. SATAN’S WORKS ON THE EARTH

1. Jesus says that Satan comes to “kill, steal, and destroy.

He has 3 functions only. On. 10:10)

2. He tries to deceive even the anointed of God. (1 Chron. 21:1)

3. He petitions God to try and “sift” men… and that includes YOU. (Job 1; Lk. 22:31)

4. He does his works with all power, signs, and lying wonders. (2 Thess. 2:9)

5. When he comes, he comes as an angel of light, that is, RELIGIOUS.

(2 Cor. 11:14) This is a hard thing for most Christians to believe. The scripture does not say that he IS an angel of light but that he comes AS an angel of light. That is, he counterfeits the things of God BUT... they are revealed as DECEITS by the HOLY SPIRIT because they:

• lack the Spirit

• are scripturally incorrect

• lack spiritual power

• are always operations of “the flesh”, often with the help of spiritually seduced and uninformed Christians who are scripturally uninformed and not operating in the gifts of the Spirit, particularly the gifts of discernment (Word of Knowledge) and the gift of discernment of spirits.

6. He deceives the whole world (Rev. 12:9,10); the Scripture says, therefore, “...woe to the earth...”. (Rev. 12:12)

7. He COUNTERFEITS EVERYTHING that the Lord does.

• For example, Satan has a COUNTERFEIT trinity made up of him, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet of Revelation, who respectively, are his counterfeit representations of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

• Another example: Satan has COUNTERFEITS of the Lord’s angels of the 4 winds (Mt. 24:31; Mk. 13:27; Rev. 7:1) which are known to us as the PRINCES of the North, South, East, and West.

He even runs COUNTERFEIT churches! (Rev. 2:9)

• in the example of this scripture, he is found to have deceived Jews into thinking that they were of God, but the Holy Spirit calls them a synagogue of Satan. Satan can also deceive some people into thinking that they are Christians and, in reality, they are not but do not recognize it because they lack the Spirit or the knowledge of Scriptures to show them and lack the OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD that God demands.

8. He puts demonic spirits against people, including believers, to “buffet” or harass them.

C. THE TITLES OF SATAN, ACCORDING TO DIVINE REVELATION:

• the prince of this world (Jn. 12:31; Jn. 14:30; Jn. 16:11)

• the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2)

• the prince of demons (Mt. 9:24)

• the Lord of the Flies (Beelzebub) (Mt. 12:24)

• the accuser of our brethren (Rev. 12:9,10)

• the father of lies (Jn. 8:44)

• the ruler of this world (Jn. 12:31)

• the great dragon (Rev. 12:9)

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION (2 Cor. 1:9,11) and NOT TO FASCINATE THE READER. BE ON GUARD that Satan, through a seducing spirit does not try to lead you into a state of mind of fascination (bewitchment) based on its unusual but SCRIPTURAL content, and by so doing, is inadvertently revered for his power and works.

REMEMBER: SATAN WAS DEFEATED AT THE CROSS BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST NEARLY 2 THOUSAND YEARS AGO and he HAS NO POWER against the BELIEVER EXCEPT that which YOU give him through FEAR, DOUBT, UNBELIEF, UNFORGIVENESS.

You must appropriate (take possession of) YOUR VICTORY IN CHRIST over him BY TRUSTING FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ to perform His Word and COVENANT for YOU.

ALL demonic manifestations that the believer will see will ALWAYS be a DECEPTION, INTIMIDATION, and BLUFF to try to get the believer to back off, since Satan and his fallen angels and demons have been STRIPPED of power already by our Lord Jesus Christ. When you CONFRONT demonic powers (or Satan himself) KEEP THIS IN MIND... he has NO power over you and ALL that he is trying to do is a BLUFF.

You control him and his demonic spirits and stop them DEAD IN THEIR TRACKS by the prayer of BINDING AND LOOSING backed by FAITH in Christ, faith that WHAT YOU HAVE DECREED in the NAME OF JESUS WILL COME TO PASS (Job 22:28; Jn. 14:13,14)

BECAUSE the demons MUST OBEY ANYTHING commanded in the Name of Christ Jesus because they are SUBJECT TO YOU in His NAME (Lk. 10:17). The POWER is delegated to YOU and with YOU through the Holy Spirit (Lk. 10:19) and NOTHING SHALL HARM YOU (a promise). This is called the BELIEVER’S AUTHORITY in CHRIST.

IV. THE OPERATION OF SATAN’S KINGDOM UPON THE EARTH INTRODUCTION TO DEMONOLOGY:

A. Satan’s kingdom upon the earth consists of 4 components:

1) Satan himself

2) fallen angels -probably principalities and “evil spirits in high places” of Ephesians 6.

3) demons- “ruler” and “power” spirits or “powers” (“fly’ demons”)

4) the disembodied spirits (souls) of the unsaved dead whom he has evangelized and harvested.

OVERVIEW: Although much has been written by demonologists of various denominations, much scriptural and some not so scriptural, the following will serve as sufficient background information to permit the believer to have all of the background information that he really needs to carry out spiritual warfare and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit for the Lord’s glory without getting “flakey” about it arid going off following strange doctrines and imaginations of carnal Christians and others.

I believe that the following, then, can be soundly demonstrated or inferred by Scripture as well as by practical experience in the deliverance ministry.

Regarding Satan, the believer must keep in mind that he is NOT omniscient nor omnipotent... that is, he is neither all knowing nor all powerful.

He has lost his power in the life of the believer EXCEPT when the believer yields to him and PERMITS him a place in his/her thought life and gives an area of his/her will over to him.

Then, repentance is needed, and deliverance must be appropriated by FAITH. Satan acts as a hitchhiker along your road to life. NEVER open your “car door” (mind) to let him in... he’s going to WANT to drive. NEVER let him into your “apartment” (life), he’s going to WANT to CHARGE YOU rent! In other words, he is a usurper of situations and circumstances.

Jesus says that he has only three functions: to kill, steal and destroy. He does nothing else.

Jesus calls him the prince of this world and tells us that ALL of the world is under the power of Satan. Do you know what that means? It means that EVERYTHING that is part of the world system WILL BE used by him to HIS ADVANTAGE to CARRY ON his destructive work... certain foods to harm our bodies, certain kinds of music or the arts and entertainment to evangelize our youth and elderly alike, for examples.

As far as he is concerned, ALL things on the earth must serve him and that includes you and me... or so he thinks. Think about it... when we as CHRISTIANS are walking a faithwalk in the Lord Jesus Christ on turf that he has tried to take control of, Satan interprets that as our being in rebellion to him, his kingdom and his purpose. He wages war against us to get us to back down and submit.

This is only one of the reasons that Christians face such trials and tribulations. But FEAR NOT, Jesus says,... “for I will be with you ALWAYS, EVEN to the end of the age....”.

Fallen angels and demons are not one and the same is an inference of scripture. In Daniel 10:16,18, the prophet Daniel describes his encounter with the angel Gabriel, referring to him as “resembling” a human being and having a human appearance. From this and other such scriptures in the Bible, we can infer as a matter of revelation that angels have a physical form or spirit-body, even though we cannot see them with the naked eye unless the Holy Spirit permits us to do so through the gift of discerning of spirits. This would then be true of fallen angels as well as Gods angels, since Gabriel fought the fallen angel called the prince of Persia in “face-to- face” combat in Daniel Chapter 10. We can infer, then, that ALL angels have a “physical” form or “body”. This is also seen by description of the angel forms of the angels that stand before the throne of God as described in the Book of Revelations.

The origins of demons is not known. They are not mentioned in Scripture as having fallen from heaven. Neither, in scripture, with the exception of the familiar Spirit described in 1 Sam. 28:7,8, do they appear to have a spirit-body or “physical” form, although they are known to be experts at producing APPEARANCES of the physical, as the Familiar Spirit did in this chapter when he impersonated the dead prophet Samuel 1. In other words, they are experts at materializations. This is not the same thing as possessing a physical body.

Demonic spirits differ, then, from fallen angels in that they are spirit-beings without spirit-bodies such as angels have, to the best of our knowledge. Some demonologists believe that they are the DISEMBODIED spirits of the Antediluvians, the wicked people of the earth who were destroyed in the world wide flood at the time in the world wide flood (2 Peter 3:5,6) referring to the great catastrophic event between Gen.1:1 and Gen.1:2, and described by the Holy Spirit through Jeremiah in Jer. 4:23- 26. This is to be contrasted to the 2 ndGreat Flood at the time of Noah, in which the world was not destroyed (2 Pet.2:5). That they may have been the disembodied spirits of a previously longstanding and long extinct race that the Lord destroyed because of their evil succumbing to Satan, may be considered evident by Scriptures if one considers the following:

• Genesis 1:1 and Gen. 1:2 were probably separated by a huge time period. In the first verse the earth is created. In the second, it says that the earth “was” without form and void (emptiness). A study of several literal translations of the Hebrew of the Old Testament scripture will reveal, however, that this Hebrew word “was”, noted in so many of our modern Bible translations was actually translated as and means “became” in the original form and translations. In other words, there is a great implication that some great cataclysmic event occurred between Gen. 1:1 and Gen. 1:2 where the earth was created (had form and substance) and then “became” without form and “void”, that is, was destroyed.

• In Jeremiah 4:23-26 the prophet Jeremiah describes this past scene and tells us that he saw, in the Spirit, the earth both “formless and void”. (This is not endtime prophecy because the Book of Revelation tells us that in the end, the earth will not be destroyed, nor all of its inhabitants, but, instead, will be restored by the Lord Jesus Christ, following which will come The Perfect Age.) In verse 26, the Bible tells us that all its CITIES were pulled down. In other words, there was worldwide destruction and these beings had cities over the earth. Cities represent centers of sizeable populations.

In Gen. 1:26,27 God said that He would make man in “Our Image”. Could this then imply that prior to Gen. 1:2 that that which was upon the earth was NOT made in His Image? Perhaps. He also tells Adam to go forth and REPLENISH the earth (Gen. 1:28). How could the earth be RE -PLENISHED unless it had first been “plenished” at some time in the past? Was, then, the Creation, actually a Re-Creation in His Image, and is that the reason why the Bible is so specific in its intent to emphasize that Adam and Eve were made in His Image.? Where, then, did the wickedness enter man other than that of original sin secondary to the fall, in order to produce the spiritual “descendants” of this wicked disembodied race?

The answer to that may lie in Gen. 6:1. Here it says that the sons of God (a term for the angels in the Old Testament) saw that the daughters of men were beautiful or “fair” arid took them as wives, “whomever” they wanted. In other words, it may have been against their will, or perhaps they were in agreement. In verse 4 it goes on to say that these angels “entered into them”, that is, had sexual intercourse with them, and that the women bore offspring or children who became GIANTS known as the “NEPHILIM” or “giants that inhabited the earth” at that time. These verses infer that the angels who did this were not in God’s Will but had left their heavenly abode or were fallen in order to achieve this. In verse 5, it says, that God saw that the wickedness of man was GREAT on the earth (because of the tremendous sin nature that man took on because of these events).

From this time on it’s all history. Enter Noah, then comes the Flood to wipe evil mankind and the Nephilim off the face of the earth. Enter Satan to obtain his harvest. Between Satan, the fallen angels, and the demonic spirits which make up Satan’s kingdom on the earth, we come to know by the Scriptures that evil does exist on the earth. They DO EXIST because JESUS SAID THAT THEY EXISTED and TALKED to them. And I can assure you... they are NOT our friends. It is also interesting to note that during some deliverances, when these spirits are commanded to speak TRUTHFULLY (and they CAN be MADE to speak the truth because they ARE SUBJECT to us (Lk. 10:17) in the Name of Jesus), they frequently will acknowledge that they ARE Antediluvians”. The term “Antediluvian” means “from before the Flood.”

The DISEMBODIED DEAD are spirits of human origin who are the victims of Satan, that is, unsaved souls. They are on the earth doing his work and his bidding because THAT is where Satan is carrying out his operation at the present moment and they are now a part of his kingdom. They, like demons and fallen angels, MUST carry out his commands or they are tormented and punished by those spirits higher in the chain of command. And there is ALWAYS a chain of command. During exorcisms they are easily identified because they can be commanded to truthfully identify themselves in the Name of Jesus and in so doing will ALWAYS come forth with a human name such as “Joe” or “Sheila” and an ancestral relationship can be determined. This is sometimes painful for the person being delivered because it is sometimes found to be the disembodied spirit of a former loved one such as a father or grandparent. The implication is obvious. They have been sent back by Satan to help destroy their own families. Nothing could be crueler. Many people involved in the deliverance ministry to whom I have talked, have had similar experiences, and have made similar observations from these practical but unfortunate experiences.

The disembodied (that is, the soul or spirit that has lost or surrendered its human body through physical death) are, I believe, responsible for hauntings which are so common to all cultures and reported by all peoples worldwide.., with a “little” help from their demonic overseers. These cannot be the spirits of saved individuals because saved souls are not on the earth but in the kingdom of God, in heaven with Jesus.

B. THE ACTIONS OF DEMONS

In Mt. 8:28-34 the scripture gives us revelation of demon behavior. We note that they firstly seek embodiment (to get into the body of) men, and then, if not possible, of animals. The following observations are made:

• they like to hang around unclean places such as graveyards.

• they seek embodiment to maximize their destructions and to live THEIR thought-lives through the minds and wills of the individuals they afflict.

• they come to kill, steal, and destroy.

• they delight in tormenting their victims but FEAR being tormented.

• they induce fear in humans, particularly unbelievers. • they must obey any command given in the Name of Christ Jesus. (Lk. 10:17)

• they can be bound (tied up) and the person loosed (untied) from their bondage in the Name of Christ Jesus (Mt. 16:19; Mt. 18:18; Mt. 12:29)

• they work in a chain of command or hierarchy and the top ‘man” in command is called the ruler spirit or STRONGMAN (AS IS SATAN WHO MUST BE BOUND FIRST, then the strongman or ruler spirit, then all of the underling spirits.., all in the Name of Christ Jesus). The strongman spirit tells all below him what to do. They take their orders from him. Bind him and loose the individual from him and cast him out and all the others will fall with him. The entire demonic infestation in a person or place is called a STRONGHOLD. The stronghold is toppled by toppling the strongman spirit first (Mt. 12:29)

• they express emotions

• they can speak truth (Lk. 4:41)

• up to a “Legion” can inhabit one person (2000-6000 demonic spirits = 1 Legion)

• they keep people naked (Lk. 8:27)

• they can cause disease (Lk. 13:11)

• they can produce lying signs arid wonders

• they seduce and deceive

• they bring false doctrines into the church (See Galatians)

they minister only ONE THING. We learn this by the pattern of the Scriptures which NAMES THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR FUNCTION, that is, according to WHAT they minister to people. Thus, the scriptures, for example, speak of the spirit of FEAR, the LYING spirit, the spirit of divination, the spirit of jealousy, etc. Each demonic spirit ministers the thing that it is named.

they “demonize” people. The Bible uses the Greek word “diamonizomenoi” (Lk. 8:36) which means to “have a demon” or be “demonized” and which has been INCORRECTLY translated by men, over the years as “demonpossessed”

Such a term does not exist in the original and so-called possession would represent a severe degree of control of the thought-life of an individual by demonic spirits, particularly when the WILL of the -person seems to be bound. When it is not and the person can make exercise their own will and appears to be harassed by demonic spirits, the term DEMONIC OPPRESSION is used. It appears, then that demonic oppression and so-called demonic possession really represent opposite extremes of the spectrum of “demonization” and the degree to which the individual has surrendered his will over to the demonic spirit for its use.

V. DEMONIZATION IN CHRISTIANS

Is it possible for a Christian to have a demon? The scriptural answer to this question in “YES’. Whereas I do not believe that it is possible for a Christian to be “possessed” (and have never seen one possessed), I do believe that it is possible for a Christian to be OPPRESSED by demonic spirits, a condition referred to as DEMONIC OPPRESSION.

When oppression is so severe as to cause manifestations within an entire household, church, or community, the condition is called DEMONIC INFESTATION, and in such instances, multiple members of a family or community are experiencing or are aware of the activities of demons being present.

That demonic oppression is possible in believers is well established in the scriptures, and the following scripture references are “key” scriptures to the understanding of this concept:

• Gal. 4:8,9 -where Paul asks if the believer wants to be ENSLAVED by them AGAIN, implying that it is POSSIBLE.

• 2 Cor. 12:7-9- where Paul acknowledges that he had a demon assigned against him and called him a “messenger from Satan” who was sent to harass him. He prayed to Jesus to remove the spirit and Jesus’ reply was that His Grace was sufficient.

• 2 Cor. 11:3-4 where scripture demonstrates that it is possible for a believer to receive “another spirit” other than the Lord’s.

1 Tim. 4:1-3 -where the Spirit through Paul describes a last-days phenomenon which warns that some will depart from the true doctrine of Christ to pay attention and receive ministry from seducing spirits and receive doctrine from demons. It is happening NOW and the activity is FULL-BLOWN. A good example of this is the ECCLESIASTICAL SPIRIT also known as the RELIGIOUS SPIRIT or DENOMINATIONAL SPIRIT which ministers the demonic doctrine of denominational exclusivity (“Our denomination has an exclusive doctrine or insight into the Scriptures which makes us different from all others and WE ARE CORRECT in our faithwalk and interpretation of the Word of God and all others are WRONG and therefore separated from us.” The REAL and hidden problem: SPIRITUAL PRIDE. The fruit of such pride and works = DIVISION OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. Jesus said that you will KNOW them, if they be of God, BY THEIR FRUITS (Mt. 7:16-20) The ecclesiastical (religious) spirit is an underling or one of the kindred spirit manifestations of the LYING SPIRIT, or, in actuality, the LYING SPIRIT itself. Uninformed Christians or Biblically-ignorant Christians are usually spiritually blinded to this realization, and the religious spirit on them will usually VIGOROUSLY oppose and minister against any such revelation to them by others who know and are informed, with help from the Antichrist spirit. For this reason, practical experience in the faithwalk will readily reveal that religious people almost always RESIST the Holy Spirit and the things of the Holy Spirit. God does not call the believer to be religious. He calls the believer to be HOLY. To be holy is to be separated to HIM and HIM ALONE and to WALK IN HIS WORD.

Why does God permit us to experience demonic opposition or oppressions? Because God uses Satan and the members of his kingdom as His “monkeys” to carry out those experiences that He will permit through His Permissive Will to carry out His PURPOSE in our lives:

• to teach us to walk in victory,

• to teach us the BELIEVER’S AUTHORITY and WHO WE ARE in CHRIST,

• to mold us, make us, and break us of pride, arrogance and to turn us from our sinful nature and desires,

• to give us the fullness of the revelation of Christ,

• to conform us to His Image and to give us formation in Him,

• to teach us to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit,

• to bring Him the GLORY and BUILD the kingdom by showing others HOW to walk in POWER of the Holy Spirit and WHERE the kingdom REALLY is.

God is not being mean or cruel in permitting demonic opposition in our lives. He is DOING A WORK. Not for Him... for US . He is teaching us to walk in His Word, He is teaching us OBEDIENCE and DEPENDENCE upon Him and to TRUST Him and to CALL UPON HIM and TAKE REFUGE IN HIM so that we may have an ever increasing revelation of HIM and His Power for His Glory as He continues to mold us, break us, and then make us into His Image. As He has conquered Satan and all of his kingdom and works, so do WE, by GRACE through FAITH. We appropriate victory and take possession of our “land’ or territory upon this earth which it has pleased God, through His grace, to give us for His glory. God wants you to walk in victory.

VI. DEMONIC SPIRITS AND THEIR MINISTRY

There are a number of demonic spirits mentioned in the Bible in both Old and New Testaments. I believe that these, in particular, are mentioned because they are STRONGMAN spirits. Experience demonstrates that there are many others as well and that the STRONGMAN spirits usually work in groups of three. For this reason Ecclesiastes 4:12 warns that one (spirit) who is alone can be overpowered, but the 3- strand or 3-FOLD CORD is not easily broken. I believe that the 3-fold cord consists of the Ruler (strongman) spirit and two other back-up or enabling strongman spirits. They tend to work in 3’s. Examples of this are:

• Python spirit, spirit of guile, spirit of seduction

• spirits of lust, seduction, pornography

• spirits of lust, fornication, perversion • religious spirit, antichrist spirit, Jezebel spirit

• spirits of pornography, bondage, violence

The pattern of Scripture reveals that a demonic spirit is named by its function and the name of the spirit is WHAT it ministers. We know this from both Old and New Testament scriptures since both demonic spirits and ministering angels of the Lord Jesus are referred to in this manner. Thus 2 Tim. 1:7 refers to the spirit of fear (from Satan) and the spirit of love, power, and a sound mind (given by the Lord Jesus). At first glance it would appear that Jesus is speaking of a believer assuming a certain emotional mood. If, however, we do a word study of the word “spirit” to find out what original word was used by the Holy Spirit in the original Greek language manuscript of the New Testament, to determine what the Holy Spirit intended to express, we readily find that He used the word “pneuma” for “spirit”, and its approximate translation from the Greek means “like the wind but with intelligence”.

The Old Testament Hebrew counterpart for “spirit” is the Hebrew word “Ruach” which, amazingly is translated with the same proximate meaning. So we see, then, that the spirit of fear is a demonic spirit that ministers fear to a person. The spirits of love, power, and a sound mind, are ministering angels of the Lord Jesus Christ, and minister those blessing, respectively, to the believer. And I believe that if we take God at His Word, we can bind up and off and loose us from a demonic spirit AND EVEN BIND TO a person a ministering angel of the Lord Jesus Christ, because the scripture tells us that WHAT (or WHATEVER) you (shall) BIND on earth IS BOUND in heaven (Mt. 16:19; Mt. 18:18). The actual literal Greek says that ‘whatever you shall bind, already in heaven having been bound, is bound; and whatever you shall loose, already having been loosed in heaven, is loosed...”!!

The following are the demonic STRONGMAN spirits mentioned in the Scriptures along with comments on what they minister (in most, what they minister will be obvious by their names):

• familiar spirit-1 Sam. 28:7,8

This is the Old Testament term for “demon”. It is called “familiar” because it is assigned to families and their members. Satan has seen to it that ALL believers and unbelievers alike have these spirits assigned to them and the other family members for their destruction. It will minister the particular sin that some member of the family opened the door to in the past, to other family members. Thus, if an ancestor took an interest in fornication and opened that door Satan, an assignment against that family is formed and the familiar spirit of fornication will minister that sin down the family line to the descendants, carrying out the generation curse of fornication in that family line. If great-great-grandpa was a fornicator, it is likely that great-grandpa and grandpa will have gotten into fornication at some time in their lives since the generations curse comes down 3-4 generations upon the children and descendants of the one who sinned. (Ex. 5:20) The remedy is to confess the sins of the ancestors and predecessors on all sides of one’s own families and the spouses families back to the families origins, repenting for grieving the Holy Spirit and for those whom they may have harmed, blessing the Lord and their descendants in restitution, asking the Lord’s forgiveness, and THEN breaking the generations curse in Jesus’ Name. (Lev. 26:40-45)

The familiar spirit is not only familiar with you and all of your habits, but he was familiar with ALL of your ancestors and their habits, even 30 generations ago or two thousand years ago. He knows your family and its weaknesses well. More than one familiar spirit may be assigned to a person. Suspect the familiar spirit and generations curse when you see more than one of the same type of problem in a family line affecting more than one generation. For instance, multiple cases of diabetes mellitus, cancer, premature or sudden deaths, divorce, alcoholism, addictions, sexual immorality, adultery, fornication, etc. Even behavioral traits such as unbelief, resisting the Holy Spirit, lust, anger, mental or emotional problems that tend to run in families may represent demonic ministry of the familiar spirit.

The familiar spirit will first affect the “priest” of the house, the head of the household with whom the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the family members resides. Upon the death of the father of the family, the head of the household, the familiar spirit will pass down upon the first-born son, according to the pattern of Old Testament scripture.

• spirit of Python (divination)

This spirit is named “Python” from the New Testament Greek manuscript word “Puethon” which means a Python snake. The snake, representative of Satan himself as the spiritual embodiment of all occult powers and occult sciences, represents the spirit of divination, through which, by various occult sciences such as astrology, palm reading, tea leaf readings, runes, seances, mediums, passive meditations such as yoga, TM, mantras, chants, Ouija board, New Age practices, crystal gazing, channeling, but to name a few, it is capable of giving so-called “psychic” powers to so- called “psychic” people who can then supposedly use them to tell the “future”. In actuality, because Satan was once in heaven and knows God’s plans for a person’s life and their past histories, the demonic spirits assigned to the person simply transfer the information to the demonic spirits assigned to the “psychic” who then tells the person things about their lives or future that may come true... sometimes because God has carried them out and sometimes because Satan has, in order to get them to believe in psychic or SOUL power. It is ALL a deception. The spirit of Python acts like a snake. Just as this snake can squeeze the life out of a person that it has wrapped around, the spirit of Python can squeeze the life out of a church (dwindling membership, factions and departing, etc.) or its finances, or can squeeze the life out of a person, their health, business, finances, income, safety, etc. Suspect its presence when you see the life’s blood being squeezed out of a church congregation or its pastor, or out of a person or any aspect of his/her personal life. Python works closely with the spirits of seduction and guile. (See Acts. 16:16)

spirit of bondage (Ro. 8:15)

Manifestations may include bondage to anger, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, lust, addictions, compulsions, inordinate submission to others, excessive desires for domination or control of others or for possession of power or material things, or to sex, drugs, witchcraft, religion, desires; inability to break away; domination of the person’s will.

• spirit of fear (2 Tim. 1:7)

The fear ministered here is not a normal human fear or concern which is protective and defensive, but an INORDINATE FEAR which dominates the life of the individual and TORMENTS them, governing their decision making and behavior and debilitating them. It is a pathological fear. It can minister specific subtypes of fear such as fear of failure, fear of death, fear of starvation (an obesity spirit along with the “little girl” spirit and the spirit of obesity or spirit of gluttony). Luke 21:26 implies that it can minister fainting (heart attacks?). It can also minister night- terrors, nightmares, nervous tension, anxiety, timidity, phobias, dread, obsessive-compulsions, inferiority feelings, etc. Suspect its presence in a person whose entire behavior is governed or dominated by fear.

deaf and dumb spirit (Mk. 9:25,26)

This spirit can minister epilepsy or convulsive seizures, spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness, and physical harm. It can keep a person from expressing themselves spiritually or temporally.

• spirit of heaviness (Jr. 10:19)

Also known as the spirit of depression. It may also be one with the spirit of infirmity which causes diseases, because the Old Testament Hebrew word for heaviness also means “infirmity”. It is driven away by binding, loosing and casting out as well as by the garment of PRAISE (Is. 61:3) Suspect its presence when a person manifests chronic depression, chronic illness, chronic fatigue, chronic grief or sorrow. It can also manifest as chronic loneliness, rejection, hopeless or despondent behavior or despair.

• spirit of infirmity (Lk. 13:11)

In Lk. 13:11 a woman bent over with a spinal problem for 18 years was told by Jesus that she had a spirit of infirmity. Notice that Jesus did not hesitate to equate disease with a demonic spirit NOR to tell the person. In Acts 19:12 we see another insight to evil spirits causing disease, for they departed when the anointing of the Holy Spirit was sent by a prayer cloth through Paul to sick individuals who were then healed. In Psalm 31:10 the Psalmist states that he is sick and made weak because of his iniquities or sins. Sin opens the door to the demonic and enables the spirit of infirmity to enter our bodies and afflict. See also spirit of heaviness above. Suspect the presence of this spirit whenever a serious physical disease is present. Then look for the legal ground upon which it stands present (unconfessed or secret sin, rebellion) [cancer, see Isaiah Chapters. 3&4], unbelief, pride, any of the causes of unanswered prayer- (see section on prayer), generations curses, curse spoken by others, selfinflicted curse, etc.)

• spirit of jealousy (Num. 5:14)

ministers jealousy, anger, competition, rage, perhaps violence, division, spite, condescension, malice, violence, cruel behavior, murder, etc.

the perverse spirit (Is. 19:14)

ministers physical and sexual perversion; ministers perversion of thought-processes; ministers perversion of the doctrine of Christ. ministers sexual deviations, error, false doctrines, twisting of scripture meaning, ministers traps and snares (Prov. 17:20-23) arid causes the person doing the perversion to be caught by others; idolatry of self; false brethren; rebellion, among other things.

spirit of whoredoms (harlotry) (Hos. 4:12)

Causes a person to go “a-whoring”, that is, to go after “other loves”. Just as one love is not sufficient for a prostitute, which causes her to go after more than one “love”, when the spirit of whoredoms is present it causes the person to go after ‘other loves” spiritually or temporally. In short, Jesus in not enough. Jesus is not sufficient or more than sufficient to meet their spiritual and temporal needs, so they include in their faithwalk things and people other than Jesus in an attempt to satisfy their spiritual hunger. This spirit takes advantage of their weakness in trust and need to affirm what they are doing by engaging in other means to affirm their faith (which is marginal, otherwise they would not be seeking “other loves” to affirm their faithwalk rather than JUST TRUSTING JESUS with total abandonment to Him). This spirit can cause them to go after other “loves” in the form of possessions, material things, power, etc. It is most noticeably present when it causes a person to prostitute their faithwalk by pursuing unscriptural, nondoctrinal practices and beliefs which take from covenant relationship with Christ and nullify it. This spirit makes strong use of TRADITION to achieve its end.

• spirit of haughtiness (pride) (Prov. 16:18,19)

This spirit ministers’ pride, control, self-assertion, self- righteousness, rumor, gossip, contention, stubbornness, mocking, condescension, selfimportance.

• the lying spirit (spirit of lies) (2 Chron. 18:22)

This spirit ministers lies, vanities, false concepts, false doctrines and false religious beliefs that have no foundation in scripture as divine revelation; ministers delusional thinking and false beliefs, false imaginations, false attitudes, false understandings, obsessions; the religious spirit is a form of lying spirit.

• the Antichrist spirit (1 John 4:3)

Ministers persecution of believers, opposes the offices of the church (pastors, prophets, evangelists, etc.); sniper warfare against believers; displaces Christ and His Blood atonement and substitutes error in doctrine; attacks the credibility of believers and their testimonies; seduces people into false doctrine and error; promotes legalism in the church; causes disruptions in church services and gatherings; opposes the Lord Jesus Christ and ALL of His practices and teachings.

• unclean spirit (Mt. 12:43-45; Lk. 4:33)

A general or generic term for a demonic spirit, usually keeping a person in a filthy and dirty condition; ministers “unclean” sexual acts also; perhaps ministers seizures or convulsions (epilepsy), particularly if the other associated signs are present; uncontrollable behaviors; supernatural strength.

• spirit of detraction (Apocrypha-II Her .Com. 11:4) This spirit ministers pernicious disharmony, strife, and opposition and unbelief.

• spirit of lethargy (Is. 29:10)

Ministers laziness, sleepiness, poverty, inhibition of actions; withdrawal; spiritual blindness; apathetic states and inertias; inability to understand.

• spirit of stupor (Ro. 11:7) ministers spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness; clouding of consciousness or awareness or understanding.

• the seducing spirit (2 Tim. 4:1)

ministers lying hypocrisies, deceptions, fascinations (particularly inordinate fascinations and preoccupation’s); searing of one’s conscience; object fascinations; spiritual error; seductions of lust or sexual seductions; seduction for power or position.

• spirit of death (Rev. 20:13,14)

• spirit of hell (Rev. 20:13,14)

• spirit of error (1 John 4:6) ministers error in belief or conduct; ministers doctrinal error; false doctrines; argument; unteachable spirit(human); contention; ministers inability to submit to authority or the Word; the end-time New Age spirit which leads the world into destruction.

• the Jezebel spirit

This spirit was the motivating force behind Jezebel, Queen of Israel under King Ahab. As did Jezebel to Ahab, this spirit attempts to bring in false doctrine and false practices, domination and control in both churches and families, causing those in authority to abdicate their positions. Jezebel minister’s intimidation and manipulation for the purpose of domination of others. In family life, a wife with a Jezebel spirit tries to dominate and control the husband, contrary to the authority and intent of Scripture which clearly defines the husband as the priest of the house and with whom the anointing for headship is ordained by the Holy Spirit. Jezebellian wives ignore this and bypass the authority of the Holy Spirit to attain their end in control and decision making, controlling finances and the time use of their spouse and subjecting him to their ways and their understanding of the ways things should be. The basic problem is a lack of knowledge of what the Holy Spirit demands and of what the Scripture says. This total and complete disregard for the Holy Spirits’ mandate that they be SUBJECT to the husband and his decisions in ALL THINGS puts them in rebellion to the Scriptures and to the husband and to the ANOINTING. THEY ARE TOUCHING THE ANOINTING AND THE ANOINTED OF GOD. The Jezebellian wife or woman is in REBELLION to God without knowing it, or not caring. God gives a brief period for education, repentance, and submission to Godly authority which, according to the Word resides only with the husband, and if there is no compliance, SWIFT AND CERTAIN JUDGMENT BY GOD FOR REBELLION FOLLOWS ALWAYS WITHOUT EXCEPTION. BECAUSE GOD PERFORMS HIS WORD. The consequences of this can be read in Isaiah Chapters 3&4 which implies that the rebellion takes its toll on the physical body.

• Ahab spirit ministers abdication of Godly authority or position in a church or household.

• Haman spirit (see Ruth) spirit of anti-Semitism.

• Molech spirit ministers infant sacrifice (abortion)

• Absolom spirit ministers rebellion to Sons against their fathers. (See story of David and his son, Absolom)

• spirit of ill will (Judges 9:23)

• spirit of the Philistines (2 Chron. 21:16) the Philistine spirit ministers the turning upon or spiritual or physical assault against believers (Israel) by pagan unbelievers (Philistines).

• the spirit of princes (Ps. 76:12) perhaps a title of Satan; perhaps a Ruler, King, or Prince spirit over lesser ruling spirits.

• the spirit of deep sleep (Is. 29:10) ministers spiritually or physically

• the spirit of the world (1 Cor. 2:12)

seduces people into embracing the world system, all of its beliefs and values, and all that it has to offer in the form of wisdom, pleasure, entertainments, values, beliefs, etc. It battles for our children

VI. DEMONIC SPIRITS AND THEIR MINISTRY-continued

Other commonly discerned and manifesting demonic spirits are the:

• spirit of fornication this spirit ministers sexual immorality, sexual fornication, spiritual fornication (embracing false doctrines or man-made doctrines), masturbation, sodomy (oral or anal sex or sex with animals), adultery (sexual or spiritual), perversions. May also minister homosexuality and lesbianism.

• spirit of lust this spirit ministers various forms of lust. Underling spirits include the spirit of self-lust, spirit of eye lust, spirit of lust for the flesh, spirit of lust for power, spirits of lust for wealth, money, control.

• spirit of control this spirit ministers control over a spouse, employee, family member, church, people, etc. In the family environment it may be associated with co-dependency. It works closely in the 3-fold cord with the Jezebel spirit and antichrist or religious spirits. It also works closely with the spirit of witchcraft to maintain domination through manipulation and intimidation. These are clues to its presence.

• spirit of witchcraft this spirit is the spirit behind all of the occult sciences and occult practices including all of those associated with the New Age Movement. It is the moving force and power behind the practices of telepathy, psychic readings, clairvoyance, witchcraft spells and conjurations, yoga and transcendental meditations and their psychic feats, crystals, astrology, numerology, palmistry, runes, tarot cards, and all other forms of divination (telling the future or source); acupuncture, biofeedback, hypnosis, creative visualization and ALL other practices where a passive state of mind (passive will) is encouraged or where stilling the mind of thought is encouraged. Passivity is an open door to demonic entry. That includes passivity of will, spirit, mind, attitude, speech, and even body. This is is also the spirit behind Satanism and its practices, cultural witchcraft practices such as Haitian voodoo, Cuban santeria, Jamaican obia, African nature spirit worship and that of many other indigenous cultures of North America, South and Central America, the Amazon, New Guinea, Borneo, and Australia but to name a few.

• spirit of idolatry this spirit is at work and present whenever a person has an idol in his life. The person who is into idolatry places great importance on the thing that he is making an idol of and displays fierce attachment and covetousness of maintaining possession of it. The idol might be an object or possession to which the person attaches great power or importance. One can also make an idol out of sports, entertainments, position, intellect, intellectual pursuits, one’s profession, the mind, money, sex, the human body, sexual organs, and even one’s own opinion of the truth placed upon the altar of one’s own heart, but to name a few. This is a pernicious spirit.

• spirit of unbelief

• spirit of doubt

• spirit of worry

• this spirit ministers excessive or pathologic worry

• spirit of anxiety

• spirit of bulimia

• spirit of fear of starvation

this spirit ministers obesity

• spirit of gluttony this spirit ministers obesity and excessive eating

• spirit of starvation ministers starvation and, perhaps, fear of starvation

• spirit of anorexia

• spirit of anger

• spirit of rejection

• spirit of unforgiveness

• spirit of bitterness ministers the root of bitterness to a person and his/her subsequent bitter root judgment of the person who offended them.

• spirit of resentment

• spirit of hate

• spirit of rage

• spirit of confusion a witchcraft spirit

• spirit of condemnation

• spirit of deception

• spirit of murder

• spirit of theft

• spirit of destruction

• spirit of hardheartedness

• spirit of cruelty

• spirit of sexual abuse

• spirit of vulgarity

• spirit of blasphemy

• spirit of physical abuse

• spirit of violence

• spirit of accidents

• spirit of car accidents

• spirit of plane accidents

• spirit of homosexuality

• spirit of lesbianism

• spirit of “love”

in certain instances, when present, it keeps people single and frustrates their getting married. May be a familiar spirit in some families. This does NOT mean that every person who lives an unmarried life has a spirit of “love”. The presence of this spirit is confirmed through the gift of discernment (word of knowledge) through revelation of the Holy Spirit.

• the erotic spirit

- ministers interest in the erotic

• spirit of pornography

• spirit of addictions

ministers addiction to drugs, alcohol, foods, sex, possessions, etc.

• spirit of insomnia the presence of this spirit is determined by discernment through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Possible medical, physical, or emotional causes of insomnia must be ruled out first.

• spirit of torment

• spirit of inadequacy

• spirit of inferiority

• spirit of fear of rejection

• spirit of distrust

• spirit of suspicion

• spirit of paranoia

• spirit of rebellion

-ministers all forms of rebellion in a person and works closely with the spirit of witchcraft.

• the religious spirit a form of lying spirit, this spirit ministers preoccupation with nonscriptural man-made religious doctrines and traditions of men, many of which it probably helped to develop. It ministers fierce resistance to the Bible and to the Holy Spirit and things of the Holy Spirit such as the Holy Spirit Baptism and Gifts.

spirit of accusations

• spirit of strife

ministers strife and arguments

• spirit of pride

• spirit of grief ministers excessive or pathologic grief, often at times of the loss of a loved one.

• spirit of false burdens ministers the taking on of burdens which are neither indicated nor necessary in order to both psychologically and spiritually wear down the person under attack.

• spirit of fatigue

• spirit of legalism

• spirit of infirmity named according to the disease or infirmity that it causes. For example, the spirit of arthritis, the spirit of cancer, the spirit of heart disease, are all forms of the spirit of infirmity.

• spirit of guilt ministers excessive or pathologic guilt. This is not to be confused with the remorse experienced when a person comes under the conviction of the Holy Spirit for sinning.

• spirit of death

ministers sudden or premature death in the young, and death in the elderly.

• spirit of mind binding this spirit binds up a person’s mind or thought-life so that they cannot think freely or with ease or makes them continually focused on one or more preoccupations.

spirit of divorce

• spirit of separation (division)

• spirit of double-mindedness ministers mental instability and behavioral instability; also ministers alternating interest and indifference.

VII. PRINCIPLES OF DISCERNING THE SPIRITS

By now it should be apparent to the reader that demonic spirits are named according to their function, that is, what they minister. It appears that in most instances each demonic spirit will minister only one thing to a person. For example, the spirit of fear of failure will only minister fear of failure to a person.

There are many books written on the subject of spiritual warfare where long lists of names of demons appear on several pages within the books. These are sometimes helpful but, in most instances, it is NOT NECESSARY to carry around lists of demon’s names nor to consult long lists in books. The Bible clearly demonstrates to us that the things of the Spirit are spirit and that spiritual things are spiritually discerned because the Holy Spirit witnesses to our spirit man (Ro. 8:16). It should therefore become apparent that in ministry to a demonically-oppressed person, the believer who is doing the ministering must DEPEND upon the LEADING and REVELATION of the Holy Spirit to determine what demonic spirits are present and which one is the ruler spirit. In other words, identification is obtained by total and complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit for revelation and confirmation. Discerning the spirits, then can be accomplished by:

1) Thanksgiving and Praise

- prayer followed by acknowledging the Lord in all of your ways (Prov. 3:6) and then YIELDING to the Holy Spirit and TRUSTING Him for the manifestations of revelation and discernment, ASKING it in the Name of Christ Jesus.

2) Operating in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit

and particularly in the KNOWLEDGE GIFTS OF:

word of knowledge(discernment) where the Spirit gives the revelation to your mind as a “knowing” or fact that was not derived through reason or logic; you know that you know that you know.

• word of wisdom where the Holy Spirit leads in what to do and ask of the person being ministered to or the spirit being confronted.

• discernment of spirits the gift in which the Lord opens the believer’s spirit-vision (screen of the mind or imagination) and shows him/her the demonic spirit and what it is doing. This gift often works with word of knowledge at the same time. One can also discern spirits of the Lord with this gift. If one is seeing only demons, he/she is NOT operating in the gift of discernment of spirits.

4) Praying in Tongues

• praying in tongues before or during a deliverance session is a very fruitful way to obtain information in-the-Spirit because “tongues” ALWAYS brings revelation. It is just a matter of praying long enough and then listening in-the-Spirit for the revelation.

5) Hearing God’s Voice

• Go before the Lord with thanksgiving and praise, acknowledge Him in all of your ways, yield to Him, trust on Him, then LISTEN FIRST for Him to speak your thoughts or audibly. Wait for a brief period of time. Follow the criteria for voice identification as described in the Bible lesson on hearing God’s voice. Remember that it is accompanied by word of knowledge that it is He who is speaking, and also accompanied by joy and peace which are fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22,23; 1 Cor. 12) It will usually be the first voice. If in doubt, test the spirit. God doesn’t mind being tested... He’s the One who gave instructions in the Scripture to do it. He fully realizes that early on it may take some time for you to recognize His voice. If the Lord chooses not to speak after a reasonable amount of time, address the Lord and ASK in the Name of Jesus for identification and direction. Then listen again.

6) Asking in the Name of Jesus

• some Christian believers do not speak in “tongues”. In such an instance, discernment from the Lord should be sought by ASKING for the revelation of the name of the spirit in the Name of Jesus. Be yielded to the Spirit. Trust on Him. Expect to receive the discernment and/or listen for His voice. Frequently, the Holy Spirit will give spontaneous revelation of what spirit is the dominating or ruler spirit just by the most prominent behavior that the person displays, that is, the thoughts or actions which control their life or dominate their behavior. Demonic spirits frequently minister extremes or excesses of behaviors or thoughts focused upon one thing. For example, preoccupation or obsession with pre-marital sexual activity implies ministry by a spirit of fornication. When such behavior dominates the person’s interests and conduct it is likely that fornication is the ruler spirit. One must seek confirmation through the Holy Spirit.

VIII. THE PRAYER OF BINDING AND LOOSING

We, as believers, have the power to cast out demons (Lk. 10:19) and they MUST OBEY anything commanded in the Name of Jesus for they ARE SUBJECT to US in His Name (Lk. 10:17).

Binding and loosing is the KEY to stopping Satan and his demons dead in their tracks. How do we know this? The answer lies in the revelation of Scripture which illustrates, in Daniel Chapter 10 that when Gabriel was descending from heaven to answer Daniel’s prayer, the devil or demonic principality controlling the nation of Persia (Iraq) tried to do battle with him. Since Gabriel was on his way down from heaven, this could not have occurred in any other location other than in the heavenlies or atmospheric heaven above the earth, for Satan is referred to by Jesus as the prince of the power of the air.

Now note this. In Mt. 16:19, it says that Jesus said that He would give us the keys to the “kingdom of heaven”. This term has for many years been very loosely translated, and, if one stops to study various forms of the literal translation from the original Greek of the New Testament manuscript it will be readily noted that the more literal and appropriate translation is “the kingdom of the heavenlies” which always refers to the atmospheric heaven above the earth and not the heaven of God. Note what Jesus said: “I will give you the KEYS to the kingdom of the heavenlies, and WHATSOEVER you bind on earth SHALL BE BOUND in heaven and WHATSOEVER YOU loose on earth SHALL BE LOOSED in heaven.” (translation varied from the KJV to illustrate the point). The kingdom referred to in this scripture verse is the kingdom of Satan which is on the earth and in the atmospheric heaven above the earth where his demonic spirits try to stop angels from answering prayer. Notice that the scripture says WHATSOEVER. That means WHATEVER YOU bind and loose IS bound and loosed in heaven. In other words, God comes into agreement with you and does it. How? By releasing the ANOINTING, the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT by YOUR FAITH. Remember, it is THE ANOINTING that BREAKS the YOKE (BONDAGE) of devils (demons) and disease (Is. 10:27). When you exercise your faith and trust in God to perform the prayer of binding and loosing through you, your faith releases the anointing which breaks the bondage and causes the deliverance to occur.

Now read the following scriptures and get them into your spirit:

• Mt. 16:19

Matthew 16:19 ESV

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

• Mt. 18:18

Matthew 18:18 ESV

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

• Mt. 12:29

Matthew 12:29 ESV

Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.

You will note that binding and loosing is thoroughly scriptural, and it applies to YOU. Anywhere in the scriptures where the pronoun ‘you” appears, you can substitute your own name and the scripture will change into a more profound personal scripture to minister directly to you with increased anointing and power. This is confirmed by Mark 16:17 where Jesus says that... “in My Name YOU WILL cast out devils...”. The scriptural precedent is quite clear. The true believer WILL do these things. In fact, the verse preceding this says that such ARE THE SIGNS of those WHO BELIEVE, that is, those who are actually TRUE BELIEVERS. They step out in faith and DO.

When you STEP OUT IN FAITH AND ACCEPT GOD AT HIS WORD you will see demons cast out in your life and others. THEN you will see His POWER and discover that His Word is TRUE and can be LITERALLY ACCEPTED just as it is written. That is the reason why God gave us the Scriptures… because He has something to SAY to you and me. So the key to stopping Satan and his demons is to BIND AND LOOSE them in the Name of Jesus. The word “bind” actually means “to tie up” to such a degree as to completely immobilize and paralyze, and the word “loose” means “to untie”. Satan or the demon is bound in Jesus’ Name and the person being oppressed is “loosed” from them in Jesus’ Name. Note in Mt. 12:29 that before the strongman’s house or stronghold can be pillaged or torn down that we must FIRST BIND THE STRONGMAN. The first strongman is Satan and the strongman under him is the ruler spirit or strongman spirit assigned to the person being ministered to. The order of binding and loosing, then, when it comes to personal ministry to oppressed persons is to first bind Satan, then the ruler or strongman spirit assigned to the individual, and then each and every known underling spirit. The commands may be spoken in your own words, trusting that the Spirit leads. Examples of these appear in the next section of this topic.

You can “bind, break the power of and loose (name)... in the Name of Christ Jesus...” any or all of the following: • demonic spirits by name or not by name, addressing the latter as “all spirits not of the Holy Spirit...”

curses (until they can be broken)

• hexes

• vexes

• bewitchments

• enchantments

• spells

• workings (of witches)

• ministrations of demons

• false beliefs

• false attitudes

• false understandings

• false wisdom

• false imaginations

• anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

and BREAK THEM off of the mind of the person and cast them down as vain thoughts and imaginations, all in the Name of Christ Jesus. Speak it in that way: “Father, I bind, break and loose those things from the mind of (name), loose him/her from them and cast them down... in Jesus’ Name.

Then BIND TO HIM/HER the Lord Jesus’ ministering angels of love, power and a sound mind and speak clarity of thought and judgment upon the person in Jesus’ Name, as a blessing to replace that curse.

• physical or psychic (mental) attacks

• physical or psychic assignments

• physical or psychic operations

• all arguments

• judgments of witches or warlocks

Note that psychic attack can occur slowly over time as occasional but recurrent negative thoughts that finally take root in the oppressed person’s mind as a belief which they act upon or respond to, resulting in spiritual or psychological debilitation; or it may occur as barrages of thoughts flooding the mind all at one time. Psychic assignments are an assignment or purpose to be carried out against a human victim by a group of demons under the ruler spirit who are instructed to carry out their assignment. When this assignment is against the human body, it is called a physical assignment. A physical or psychic operation is a full-blown assault against the mind or body of a person, or against a community or church. There is a sense of the unnatural about it, a negative discernment. On the personal level of spiritual warfare, the battle is usually in the MIND or thoughtlife of the individual being oppressed.

REMEMBER: ALL NEGATIVE, DISPARAGING or HARMFUL thoughts are of the Devil. Jesus said that you judge something, if it be of God, by its fruits. The fruits of such thoughts are to discourage, harm or debilitate or destroy. Jesus said that SATAN comes to destroy, kill, and steal. It is a matter of divine revelation.

IX. THE MINISTRY OF DELIVERANCE

It is a mistake to just jump into performing deliverance upon a believer or a nonbeliever without discerning the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is also a mistake to attempt deliverance without the ANOINTING being present for it is the ANOINTING that breaks the yoke or bondage.

There must be preparation of the deliverance minister AND discernment of the person receiving deliverance, whom I shall refer to from this point on as the ministree. Although deliverance under the ANOINTING or POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT is relatively easy, since the Spirit is doing it through you, and NOT YOU, beginners who are learning to walk in the power of the Spirit will find on-the-job training from an experienced believer who knows how to minister deliverance to be a great blessing and provision to get started in the so-called deliverance ministry.

It is not necessary, however, if one is not available, since scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach you ALL THINGS under the anointing when you step out in faith and trust Him to lead you. This section will provide you with examples of commands that can be used, but feel free to use your own AFTER you have been prayed up and yielded to the Holy Spirit and tell Him that you TRUST Him to lead you in what to do. It is IMPORTANT to remember that EVERY command MUST be made in the NAME OF CHRIST JESUS. You have no authority to command Satan on your own. It is Jesus’ delegated authority given to you (Lk. 10:19) that permits the result. This is the ANOINTING which you release upon the ministree by your faith and which he/she MUST RECEIVE by faith. Remember, we get to command demons in Jesus’ Name because He said that the things that He did we WILL do because He was going to the father (John 14:12), and He COMMANDED demons, He commanded the wind and waters, and He commanded Lazarus to come forth from the dead. There is a scriptural precedent for doing so.

Before ministering deliverance, it is wise to interview the person seeking deliverance. Many people seek deliverance because they want to get a quick fix to their problem..”. This is the wrong motive, and deliverance will not occur under such conditions. It is futile to attempt it. They must seek deliverance through self-examination for sin followed by true repentance and Godly sorrow for grieving the Holy Spirit before deliverance will occur, with the exception of a sovereign move of God’s grace. There may be open doors to demons that need to be closed first so that they don’t get cast out the front door and go around the back of the “house” in through the “back door” which has been left open for them to come back in. These latter “back doors” which are left open are usually “legal ground” for Satan to have a stand or foothold in the person’s life through past physical or mental or emotional traumas such as rejection, bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment, criticism or judgment of others, anger, unrepentance, willful or secret sin, spiritual lukewarmness, idolatry of self or others, unbelief, doubt, resisting the Holy Spirit, holding on to sinful things that they do not want to part with, such as witchcraft objects or practices, religious objects (idols) or practices which represent the ministry of the spirit of religion (lies) and which we never see Jesus or the apostles regarding in the scriptures, all of which is also idolatry. These are but to name some of the common and more serious hindrances to deliverance. There must be a Godly repentance and RENOUNCEMENT of these things before deliverance will occur. When the deliverance minister is prayed up before hand and seeks the Holy Spirit for discernment or word of knowledge and word of wisdom of what to do or say, the Spirit will lead and show what needs to be repented of first, and whether or not inner healing, that is, healing of the inner man or soul (from a broken heart or wounded spirit) must take place FIRST before deliverance in order to “close the doors” of those open emotional or past physical traumas that wounded the psyche or mind. Follow the leading of the Spirit and speak those door closed and sealed by the Blood of Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus’ Name and ask the Lord to seal them in the Spirit by trusting faith in His Name, and He will do it. Sometimes this alone will effect deliverance since healing and deliverance are one and the same. They are just different manifestations of the same ANOINTING. Be yielded to the Holy Spirit after acknowledging Him and His anointing and then TRUST and follow the inclinations of your intuition (spirit man) immediately thereafter. After all, you said that you TRUSTED the Holy Spirit, didn’t you? Well then, DO IT. You will be amazed at how accurately He will lead you.

A) Requirements for the minister of deliverance:

• Go before the Lord and confess your own sins to Him and repent and ask for forgiveness. We cannot stand on the hill of the Lord without a pure heart and clean hands. (Ps. 24:4)

Be prayed up before hand with abundant thanksgiving and praise, and TONGUES if you speak in tongues. I have found from personal experience that if I spend 1-3 hours doing this beforehand that the deliverance session will be relatively short, perhaps 1-3 hours, and sometimes just minutes. Whenever I have spent less time in prayer, I have found that sessions took much longer, up to 6-12 hours. I do not believe that God wants that, and that when such occurred there was a reasonable chance that there was a block to deliverance. Seek discernment from the Holy Spirit.

• acknowledge the Lord in all of your ways; tell Him in particular that you acknowledge His salvation, healing, deliverance, provision, blessings, protection, covenant, Blood, Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, the Anointing, and His PRESENCE.

• then, tell Him that you YIELD to His Holy Spirit as and empty vessel for His use, then tell Him that you TRUST Him, by your FAITH in Him for His manifestations of His Spirit.

• then proceed to ACT. Do something. Start commanding in the Name of Jesus.

• be sure that you do not have any of the sins or blocks mentioned above, in your own life, which will hinder your effectiveness to minister also.

B) Requirements of the ministree

right motive

• confession of sin

Preferably a born-again, Spirit-filled believer. Whereas deliverance of unbelievers is possible, it is also dangerous since, if they will not follow up with a commitment for Christ and faithwalk through a life of prayer and scripture reading, the gospel of Matthew says that the demon, seeing that its house has been cleaned, after wandering in dry places, says that it will return to its house... bringing 7 spirits worse than itself so that the end state of the person ends up being worse than the first. Unbelievers should be given the GOSPEL FIRST and elect and promise to make a FIRM COMMITMENT to CHRIST and His faithwalk before receiving deliverance.

• determine the need for inner healing of emotional/physical traumas or any other special needs beforehand.

• must not doubt that God wants them free nor be in unbelief.

• must not be a lukewarm Christian.

Must not have secret sin, bitterness, anger, resentment or unforgiveness on their heart beforehand; if they do, they must will to repent and renounce and RELEASE the offending party from their anger or unforgiveness, and THEN release and forgive THEMSELVES. It must be from the heart and not just “going through the motions...” to get the job done so that they get set free. Wrong motive will not bring deliverance.

They MUST receive deliverance by GRACE through their FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS and believe they receive.

• They must DESIRE to be free and AGREE that they want the devils out of their thought-life.

C) THE DELIVERANCE PROCEDURE

There are many ways to minister deliverance. The simplest way described by scripture is to simply command the spirit out in the Name of Jesus... saying “Come out of him/her in the Name of Christ Jesus” or “spirit of (name), I bind you and break your power, and loose (name of person) from you, and cast you out in the Name of Christ Jesus.”

More formal deliverance is not at all out of order since it affords the believer the opportunity to exercise his/her AUTHORITY in Christ and thus builds the faith of both the minister and the ministree.