Counterfeit of the Occult - Some things to know and remember

Anyone can see that there is a vacuum in the religious world, today. For generations the church has denied the supernatural and that the workings of the Holy Spirit are for the present time. The emphasis upon the intellect with its powers of reasoning has been the source of doctrine and practice which has ruled out the supernatural.

In this vacuum, the kingdom of darkness is generating a revival of the occult and the supernatural. In fact it is flourishing. The traditional church has become structured and is dead. People are turning from it and seeking reality elsewhere. Because man is basically religious, the occultic counterfeit fulfills his need.

There is reality in the supernatural of the occult.

Through the Occult man has discovered the reality of another dimension.

Through Jesus Christ you can discover the reality of another dimension, and that spiritual dimension is one that is not seen and is apprehended by faith.

Satan offers his counterfeits.

Faith is the vehicle that brings the supernatural into our realm, whether it is the reality of the Kingdom of God, or the reality of the Kingdom of Darkness.

The world of the occult is real. It is not a myth. Many people go on the premise that, "If it is real, then it must be right". They have ignored the reality of a spiritual enemy.

The world of the occult is supernatural and many people also go on the premise that "if it is supernatural, then it must be God!"

But, man has a supernatural enemy who is a counterfeiter.

The kingdom of darkness is opened by the occult. The occult hold keys that open doors and some of these doors are spiritism, psychic phenomena, extrasensory perception, divination, magic and satanism.

It is through the Occult that the counterfeit of the true workings of God have come. Jessie Penn-Lewis has a good appendix about "counterfeits" in her book "War on the Saints".

There is the true outpouring of the Holy Spirit which is supernatural (Joel 2:28, Acts 1:5,8).

In the true baptism one receives the Holy Spirit.
...in the counterfeit, one receives an unclean spirit

The Holy Spirit energizes the total person.
...the unclean spirit brings passivity to the total person

Jesus Christ is the baptizer
...the counterfeit works through mediums, seances, etc.

Some of these men today on T.V. and some of the ones doing crusades, and touching people and knocking them down, are not of God. Do you know of what spirit they are?

There are true supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.
(I Cor. 12:1-11)

True gifts of revelation (verses 8,9)
...the word of wisdom through the Spirit
...the word of knowledge according to the Spirit
...the discerning of spirits by the Spirit

The counterfeit has come in the form of:
...clairvoyance and clariaudience (ESP Of objects & events)
...precognition (knowledge of events not yet taken place)
...telepathy (direct experience of someone's thoughts

There are true gifts of power (verses 9,10)
...the gift of faith by the Spirit
...the gift of healing by the Spirit
...the gift of effecting miracles by the Spirit

The counterfeit has come in the same forms of:
...faith through concentration of thought and will
...healings through mediums with supernatural power
...supernatural manifestations (Rev. 13:13-15)

There are true gifts of inspiration
...the gift of prophecy by the inspiration of the Spirit
...the gift of tongues by the inspiration of the Spirit
...the gift of interpretation of tonges by the Spirit

The counterfeit has come in the form of
...divination
...tongues used by demonic powers

Would it surprise you that some "christian" ministers today are operating in these couterfeit powers?

2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

The occultic powers focus on the mind, whereas the TRUE comes through the spirit and are ministries of the Spirit. The ministry of the TRUE does not require passivity or trances. "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (II Cor 3:17).

The Spirit of God does not consume the individual nor oppress him and the works of the Spirit are for edification and correspond with the fruits of the Spirit. The counterfeit corresponds with the works of darkness and the works of the flesh.

1. "Angels of Light" are uncovered by discerning of spirit (II Cor. 11:13-15, Acts 13:9, 10).

2. The witness of deceiving spirits is uncovered by discerning of spirits. "possessed with a spirit of divination", (Acts 16:16)

3. The doctrine of demons is uncovered by discerning of spirits (I Tim 4:1, II Pet 2:1)

4. The demon miracle workers are uncovered by discerning the spirits. "Signs and lying wonders" (II Thess 2:9), spirits of devils working miracles (Rev 16:14)

"Discerning of spirits gives supernatural insight into the secret realm of spirits. It reveals the kind of spirit that is activating a person who is manifesting supernatural knowledge or power." (Harold Horton)

"The very existence of this Gift proves the present reality of evil spirits.

They are wrecking and torturing human beings as cruelly as in the Lord's day.

At the very foot of the mountain of the Lord's glory they are still throwing men into the water and into the fire and over bridges and under trains and into gas-filled rooms.

Dare we come down from the peaks of selfish blessing and spiritual exaltation and seek earnestly such Gifts as will liberate the enslaved from the devil's malign power?

The tormented for whom Christ died?

Is it fear, or unbelief, or desire for ease in Zion that holds Christendom in the comfortable shelter of its hilltop tabernacles?" Harold Horton

A777

Good article and why many of us have had to leave most pentecostal churches.

Amen, the gifts are to set men free - if they want to be.

Good article.

I find that much of the working of the enemy takes place in the charismatic and pentecostal churches.

It doesn't mean he is not working in the more traditional churches, of course he is. He tailors his activities depending on the audience.

Jessie Penn-Lewis said something very revealing about that and I need to get my book and find it.

Something about those who are open to the Supernatural, or those that have been introduced to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, are more vulnerable to supernatural deception. I will find it and get back to you.

Just watching people go ga-ga over the likes of some "Christian" ministers nauseates me. I think they are powerful mediums operating under a counterfeit spirit.

I would like to name their names, but I think you can probably guess. Just turn to TBN and watch the guy with the Indian Nehru jacket on who combs his hair from one side to the other or watch someone on Youtube who recently was in Florida punching people in the stomach. Oy Vey!!! It's sad.

A777

I found it. War on the Saints, pg 50, The Baptism in the Holy Ghost (unabridged edition).

THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST

As we glance back over the history of the Church, and watch the rise of various "heresies" or delusions--as they have sometimes been called--we can trace the period of deception as beginning with some great spiritual crisis, such as that which, in later years, we have termed "the Baptism of the Holy Ghost"; a crisis in which the man is brought to give himself up in full abandonment to the Holy Spirit, and in so doing thus opens himself to the supernatural powers of the invisible world.

The reason for the peril of this crisis, is, that up to this time, the believer used his reasoning faculties in judging right and wrong, and obeyed, what he believed to be, the will of God, from principle; but now, in his abandonment to the Holy Spirit, he begins to obey an unseen Person, and to submit his faculties, and his reasoning powers in blind obedience to that which he believes is of God. What the Baptism of the Spirit means will be dealt with in a later chapter;note 1 at this point it is only necessary to say that it is a crisis in the life of a Christian, which none but those who have gone through it in experience, can fully under stand. It means that the Spirit of God becomes so real to the man, that his supreme object in life is henceforth implicit "obedience to the Holy Ghost." The will is surrendered to carry out the Will of God at all costs, and the whole being is made subject to the powers of the unseen world; the believer, of course, purposing that it shall only be to the power of God, not taking into account that there are other powers in the spiritual realm, and that all that is "supernatural" is not all of God; and not realizing that this absolute surrender of the whole being to invisible forces, without knowing how to discern between the contrary powers of God and Satan, must be of the gravest risk to the inexperienced believer.

The question whether this surrender to "obey the Spirit, " is one that is in accord with Scripture, should be examined in view of the way in which so many wholehearted believers have been misled, for it is strange that an attitude which is Scriptural should be so grievously the cause of danger, and often complete wreckage, to many devoted children of God.

You can read more:

http://www.acts1711.com/Contents.html (Chapter 3)

Here are the true workings of God and the counterfeit.
http://www.acts1711.com/TrueWorkings.html

A777

You are right there, about the pentecostals being some of the first to be deceived in this manner.
I've gone through quite a number of War on the Saints books in the last 35 yrs because of the worth of what's in it. As mentioned on the other thread I linked to on our present Warfare thread, I prefer the copy that has been abridged - [not edited] to explain that truly regenerated Spirit filled Christians cannot become demon possessed - but yet every time I'd buy another copy of this book - I'd pass it on to someone else. I have two copies now with differing Pub dates. The contents remain the same and it is worth keeping and I mostly appreciate the section on her view of "deliverance".

The thing that I've noticed in the last 10 yrs though is, that since Bill Hybels and others put out "tests" to find out what your gifts are - that it's not just the pentecostals that are getting into the counterfeit manifestation teachings and the manifestations themselves.
It's spread to the charismatics even before that. Counterfeit spirits all over the place now - where it comes to either manifestations of either "god" or "demons". That's why we may leave the churches but not leave His Word and His gifts. We need discernment now more than ever and will need that wisdom from Above more in the future than ever before in History.

Thanks 777.

Hi JiG,

That is why I opened this thread up with the "vacuum in the religious world". "For generations the church has denied the supernatural and that the workings of the Holy Spirit are for the present time."

But it cuts both ways. They have denied the true workings of the enemy, too. Jessie's book was abridged because theologians could not fit what she said and experienced into their theology. They even created a "fake" unabridged edition because they could just not countenance what she brought to light.

We generally think of the demoniac of Gadara when we hear the word "possession," but this not wholly representative of what it means to be "possessed" according to her defintion. You must read the book to understand.) The abridged version essentially gutted the book of it's power to liberate the Christian from the influences of demons.

It's ironic that I have been handing out the unabridged version since 1982 and many have testified that it helped them greatly.

I have found Jessie's book (unabridged, original text) to be biblical, balanced and believable.

There are some fake unabridged editions out there.

Here is the unabridged, full-text edition.
http://www.birthpangs.org/articles/background/WarontheSaints/Intro.html

Shalom,
A777

It is interesting that the Charismatic Ecumenical Renewal, the very mother of Charismania, and the plethora of liars and deceiving false prophets, had it's birthing through the supernatural; THE GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES.

Hordes of devoted Roman Catholics began to manifest "tongues", and thereby were received, primarily by Full gospel Businessmen, and other para-church organizations, and then mainstream Pentecostalism....which morphed into full-blown Charismatic denominationalism.

This {circa 1965] opened wide the gates of Holy Fellowship, denying what the "Protestant" church had kept sacred for 1900 years...to the anti-Christ doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. The "Experience" trumped sound doctrine for the first time without the demand of repentance, and with acceptance of any Doctrine, as long as you possessed the Holy Spirit. You were accepted as long as you spoke with other tongues.

This opened the door to the great falling away we see in this perverted gospel of greed, self-serving, and crass materialism....all couched within the "Blessing." Anything goes now, except that fuddy-duddy Old time religion of continued repentance and faith toward God, and being covered by the Blood as the only way to God.

So are you saying on this thread that signs and wonders are no longer valid today? Ate you saying that the sign gifts of the Spirit disappeared when the scriptures were cannonized? Are you cessionist? Would be interested to hear your comments.

No, where did you get those thoughts from, martyr?

A777

I'm sorry 777, but there is virtually no Scriptural evidence that a spirit filled regenerated child of GOD can be co-habited {possessed} by demons.

Regardless how good an author's teaching may be it is always that 2% or so of error that throws people off the deep end. Even on this other thread on spiritual warfare - they also stated that "possession" is not possible with a Saint - Scripturally. And Scriptures are our only plumline to developing doctrines of the Church.

Experience does not form Doctrine. Developing names that are not used in our Bibles does not define practices.

You are giving the same argument, exactly as a member did named "urbanus" in another thread and it was proved also in that thread that this is error.
I have to stand by Scripture only and for the sake of those that haven't had opportunity to study up on this topic of Demonology.

Possession, as I said has been discussed on the forum before and recently and the proofs are there, that possession is never in a truly Born Again Christian.
Deception is though - and that can lead to a backslidden state, according to GOD's Word .... though a return to His Word from an honest repentent human can rescue them from such deceptions.
Jesus and His writers of our New Testament is what true Christianity is based upon - soley.

Crusader,

I can't read off of computer screens too much, and I don't know if it bothers you either, but here is the Full Text, Unabridged Version.

http://www.amazon.com/War-Saints-Full-Text-Unabridged/dp/0913926043/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303997968&sr=8-2

Read some of the comments on Amazon.

Lack of experience should not deny what the Word says.

We "color" the Word by our experiences or lack of.

A777

A777

Just trying to get clarification on what this thread is saying. There is a tendancy to overreact to the excesses of spiritual experiences and say they are not valid today. If I read this thread rght it seems that a caution of excessive emphasis on experience is wise. But I would not want to discourage the experience of Christ in a believer's life.

Hi Solomon,

Bluntness is ok, no problem.

To add clarity, yes, the enemy works in the non-charismatic camp, too. Obviously! There is plenty of deception to go around. Satan does not respect any Christian that opens the door (give place) to him and there are many ways to do this (sin, rebellion).

I was saying that those that open themselves up to the supernatural without proper grounding (understanding) in the Word pertaining to the supernatural, and without discernment are opening themselves up to seducing spirits and counterfeit supernatural gifts.

Satan is very effective in the churches that deny supernatural gifts, too. He has a different strategy for deceiving and keeping them in the dark.

Asking God scripturally for something is completely different from opening yourself up to the supernatural realm. "Abandoning" yourself to the spirit, I believe is one of the terms used. If you abandon yourself to a false spirit of Jesus, you certainly will not receive an egg, fish or loaf of bread.

Sincerity is not the protection against lies. I think we can all testify to that.

Regarding Jessie, Attacking any messenger of the Lord, does not necessarily disqualify what they have received from God. There are many illustrations of this down through the centuries regarding men and women used mightily by God. Do you want to start talking about dirty laundry of men and women of God? Who would stand up to our scrutiny? Would we listen to anyone?

Knowing about Jessie Penn-Lewis's faults or mistakes would not nullify the truths in her book.

If our lives were laid out to all in this forum, do you think anyone would listen to us?

Blessings to you, too.
A777

If you want everything she wrote and not what people who disagreed with her, took out. It's up to you. Links are in this thread.

Rather than go through this discussion again - my replies are on this link -

https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic_id=37171&forum=40&start=0&viewmode=flat&order=0

It seems that we can't stress the balance on this topic enough of late. There must be a reason and I feel that the days ahead are that reason - when deceptions coupled with fear will be rampant.

The warning of Paul, to not go beyond what is Written certainly was and always will be the order of the day.

GOD help us to put down our beliefs and 'experiences' at His Altar - at the feet of The Word of GOD Himself and that which is written. Pray one for another to sacrifice what is not from Him / His Word.

And may the Lord give us more understanding and light.

Amen.

A777