Introduction to "The believer and spiritual evil" That we need to see what God has to say on this subject is obvious when the Editor of "LEADERSHIP" magazine started the Summer 1991 issue by stating that when scores of Pastors were asked "What interests you about the Supernatural?" most turned immediately to "Spiritual Warfare, Demonic influences, and Exorcism." Only later would they add "There's a lot more to the Supernatural than Demons, After all conversion, forgiveness, and changed lives are supernatural too." In her helpful book "Fix your Eyes on Jesus" Anne Ortlund commented that, traditionally, Christians understood that they faced THREE enemies: The FLESH/ fallen human nature within, The godless WORLD around us with its attractiveness to the Flesh. And the DEVIL. But, people today claim the right to have a good opinion of their FLESH, a positive self-image, and the right to express themselves unchallenged, so Christians flock to churches which encourage this. As a result they claim the right to enjoy themselves in worldly ways - The right to accumulate wealth and possessions, to revel in pleasures without restraint, and see nothing wrong in attending night-clubs, having churchless week-ends, marriage break-ups, etc. They're snuggling up to the WORLD, and don't want to hear anything that might spoil the cosy relationship. Such godless living is unsatisfying, and becomes spiritually depressing, but they don't want to know that they are reaping what they are sowing. So preachers concentrate on blaming the unhappiness on the DEVIL, demons, curses etc as that idea leaves Christians comfortable in the world and in themselves. When a popular preacher is caught out in adultery, his admirers excuse it by saying that Satan trapped him because he was such a wonderfully spiritually gifted man! To test the rightness of this new emphasis on the Satanic, and Demonic, and the correctness of current teachings, we need to examine ALL THE SCRIPTURES THAT SPEAK OF THESE SUBJECTS so that with the help of God the Holy Spirit we may discover the NATURE of the Supernatural Opposition, and the ACTIONS we need to take to nullify and defeat these. OUTLINE INDEX SECTION I - SATAN & DEMONS .................................................... 5 SECTION II - CURSES & SORCERY ............................................ 27 SECTION III - SPIRITUAL WARFARE ........................................43 Appendix 1 The beliefs & experience behind these studies .....48 Appendix 2 God, Satan & Us ...................................................... 54 Appendix 3 The Commission of Matthew 10 ............................ 56 Appendix 4 ISRAEL'S Covenant-Breaking & being Cursed..... 57 Appendix 5 Feeling Cursed? ...................................................... 59 Appendix 6 Does CONTACT WITH EVIL Bring a Curse? .........60 Appendix 7 BALAAM ...................................................................62 .... and some excerpts from its body ...1 Jn 4:1. Demons as the source of False Teaching. (MRR) - > 1 Jn 4:2-8. Test that the teaching agrees with the Bible-recorded facts of the Incarnation of Jesus for our Salvation, and with His role as the Christ. Test that love is the attitude of the teacher, and brotherly love in the church is the result of the teaching. (?) (Sp) - > Possibly "Test the spirits" means do so by the gift of discerning spirits, 1 Cor 12:10, but John doesn't suggest it does. John gives the same impression that Paul does, that what is said is to be checked against God's will revealed in His Word. There's no mention of casting out Demons by church members, or leaders, other than Apostles. No exhortation to do so, or advice as to identification, formula to be used etc. Neither the Lord, nor the Disciples, used any exorcising formula, but simply gave a command. [One Christian told me that his casting out demons was temporary only, until he learned the correct formula, which included banishing them to the abyss etc. The almost identical formula - using the names of Heathen Deities - I'd already met in a book on Eastern religions as a formula for Exorcism used in Egypt 1900 years ago.] ... INFORMATION ABOUT CURSES is given in 197 verses. (MRR) - > MORAL/RATIONAL ACTIONS people are required to take in response to this are given in 211 verses. (GS) - > is used to mark GOD'S SOVEREIGN ACTION. There are 160 verses covering these. ** NOTE ** The TOTAL number of verses - about 568.- is about 1% of the Bible. This would suggest that we should spend a similar amount of our time thinking or preaching about curses and cursing. (Sp) - > There are no verses that speak of SPIRITUAL/MAGICAL ACTION people are required to take about curses. There is in Scripture no provision of a spiritual gift, or ritual for the avoidance, detection, or removal of curses - there is no place for a "Christian Witchdoctor." We're in the safe keeping of our Ever-present, All-knowing, All-powerful, Holy Heavenly Father. All we need do is to trust Him, and do what we know to be His will, enlightened and empowered by His indwelling Holy Spirit. This subject has become a matter of concern among Christians. For many years Missionaries have been helping Africans etc escape from false ideas about the "Spirit World," that have enslaved them in fear. Now in the Western World, the New Age movement is promoting ideas of tuning in to natural/ spiritual powers to avoid "negative influences." Satan as an Angel of Light is feeding these Heathen Superstitions into the Christian Church. In the OT the subject of Oaths and Curses is a complicated one, 12 different words being used, with 6 different meanings often merging into one another. We'll look for the meanings of these words one group at a time, concentrating on those OT words and incidents from which we can gain a message for us today. All NT references are covered. ... UNCONDEMNED MENTION of sorcery covers 37 verses. CONDEMNED MENTION covers 47 verses. (MRR) - > MORAL/ RATIONAL ACTION required against it- 8 verses. (GS) - > God's SOVEREIGN intervention- 34 verses. (Sp) - > SUPERNATURAL/ MAGICAL ACTION- None. TOTAL 126 verses. God's Word generally condemns and ridicules the whole thing. It's an insult to God for His people to dabble in it or fear it, as we're indwelt by the Lord of Glory, Col 2:6-10, 18-19. There's no Christian ritual or gift provided as a defence against sorcery nor any needed. Obedient fellowship with the Lord, and trust in His Sovereign overruling, is our defence and guide. Even for the godless any involvement is distracting folly at best, a spiritist snare at worst. So-called "CHRISTIAN FORTUNE TELLERS" score average for the trade - not more than 25% correct guesses! An Attempt at APPLYING THESE PRINCIPLES to modern questions. Q 1. Are souvenirs, carvings, pictures etc with non-Christian religious symbols or associations CURSED because of that association? As meat sold in the market, wasn't cursed because it had been offered to idols, neither is any other object automatically cursed because of its associations. See Appendix 6. From Scripture it would seem that I could buy any souvenir to the glory of God IF:- 1. It doesn't offend my conscience spiritually, morally or as being a waste of the money the Lord has made me steward of. 2. It won't be seen by anyone to whom it's sacred, who'd be offended to see me using it for non-religious purposes, 1 Cor 10:32. 3. It won't be seen by a Christian converted from that religion who needs to make a clean break with all to do with it. 4. It won't capture the interest of young members of my family, or others and be an unwholesome influence. 5. The manufacture of it doesn't support/ encourage a false religion. Q 2. If I bring it into my home, will it bring a curse into my home? Just as meat bought in the market, that had been offered to idols brought into being brought itno the homes, and stomachs of Believers, brought no curse with it - except those natural ones that follow unhygienic preparation, over-eating etc - so bringing any such object into my house can't have any spiritual effect for good or ill EXCEPT AS IT WAS A SIN/ FOLLY/ UNWISE RISK/ to buy it AT THE TIME as set out in the answer to Q 1. None of our homes are free from objects with idolatrous associations. THE VERY CALENDAR ON THE WALL PROCLAIMS THE NAMES OF SEVEN OF OUR ANCESTRAL GODS, AND INVITES US TO WORSHIP EACH ON ITS DAY! In books on our library shelves, newspapers, music and songs, the wallpapers and furnishings, food labels or growing in our gardens are things that mean nothing to us, but to someone, somewhere, would have religious/ spiritual significance. IF our having them offends someone - their weak conscience must be considered. Q 3. Does Ex 23:13; Deu 12:30; Josh 23:7; forbid US to name "gods" or read/ talk about the ways which they were worshipped? God's Word does in fact name heathen "gods" and describe something of their worship, BUT IN SUCH A WAY THAT SUCH WORSHIP IS SEEN TO BE FOOLISH AND WICKED - not attractive. (Similarly it describes the realities of sexual sin without being pornographic. The record of David's adultery shows adultery as a tragedy.) It's spiritually unhealthy to be preoccupied with false religion, or any evil. Violent opposition to good or evil is often followed by conversion to it. Q 4. Will looking at or entering a heathen temple, shrine, or sacred place of any religion, or looking at religious art, bring a curse on me? Not automatically. In Christ, we're FREE, and freed from Satan and his power, indwelt as we are by the One who is stronger than him. But we must ask ourselves WHY am I doing it? Is it an essential part of my education - as a student of art, or architecture, or as a missionary needing to understand the religion and culture of the land so as to evangelise and shepherd effectively - Though that would be done more safely from books, and from listening to converts. The warnings given in Q1 apply strongly here. If our wanting to go, is sowing to the flesh, we know what we'll reap! Unless our desire to be there is to glorify God we know that we're grieving God the HOLY Spirit who gets no pleasure out of our presence there. If anyone else who sees us there, or will hear about it, thinks I shouldn't be there, it may well stumble him/ be a sin for me. Q 5. Is listening to/ playing religious chants, music, or reading literature written by those of other religions, including atheist, humanists, or communists a sin? Will it bring a curse on me? Again the answer is there's nothing automatically wrong about it unless the message conveyed in itself discourages Godliness. BUT Some of us have naturally sensitive/ weak consciences with regard to these things. They are SIN for us. They're dangerous temptations. We must flee them. AND if they're not a temptation to us, we must watch that we don't stumble by our example those to whom they are. An example from personal history - in military camp for six whole months the only entertainment available was the free film each night, aimed at what the average serviceman looked for. When a friend sneered "So you think you're too GOOD to watch the films!" I replied truthfully. "No I know I'm too BAD to watch them without risking giving way to indecent thoughts." One from Church History - it was a real problem to the early church that THE ONLY HIGHER EDUCATION AVAILABLE, was from Heathen books, and Heathen teachers. In general the church leaders, including Jerome condemned all such higher education and books. Yet, when Jerome retired to a cave at Bethlehem to concentrate on producing the VULGATE= COMMON LANGUAGE LATIN version of the Bible, as well as BIBLE manuscripts he took with him the writings of Plato, Aristotle etc. As someone remarked acidly "He spent his mornings reading these heathen philosophers, his afternoons writing to others telling them it was a sin to read them!"