Attention Please
The 2nd edition of the book "Spirit Universe" is now available for download at a reduced price. The book has been edited and updated. It is an invaluable addition to anyone who is involved in ghost hunting, parapsychology, and especially deliverance ministry. To get the book please click on the image below:

When Deliverance is Difficult

Whenever you are in the process of delivering a person or situation from the influence of unclean or demonic spirits, it is highly desirable to conduct the deliverance session in both an effective and simple manner. That desire is often not the reality of deliverance because of three factors I would like to discuss in this post.

The Foundation:
There is one fact and belief absolutely essential for any deliverance team. They must fully believe and totally comprehend the fact that Jesus Christ has absolute authority and power in the spiritual universe. Because Christ is all powerful, no spirit can withstand a command given in his name since his name represents both his authority and spiritual power. If a deliverance session runs into resistance or difficulty, it is not because of a lack in the Name of Jesus, but in other factors which must be dealt with before deliverance is possible. Here are three of those factors

Attachment:

One of the primary reasons that deliverance may fail is because the person needing deliverance wants to continue the attachment to the spirit. One reason for this is that the person enjoys the “thrill” of being connected to the supernatural. This excitement acts as a reinforcer, and the person does not want to give up his psychological attachment to the spirit, even when the spirit is abusive or unhealthy.  Unless there is a true desire for repentance and freedom from the spirit, deliverance should not be attempted. There is a clear warning in this process of attachment for ghost hunters and others seeking contact with spirits. Attachment can become an addiction, and no matter how the addiction is justified, it can cause much damage and harm.

Mental Illness:

Various forms of mental illness can be easily confused with spirit oppression and possession. Attempting to deliver a person from mental illness misses the point. Mental illness, as the term implies, is a sickness which needs to be addressed through the spiritual gift of healing and not deliverance. If the person continues to experience such phenomena as delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, and a lack of contact with reality after a deliverance session, then you can be sure you are dealing with an illness and not spirit possession.

Lack of Faith:

If Christ has no role or meaning in the life of a person, then there will not be sufficient faith in his power or authority for deliverance. By rejecting Christ the person is also rejecting deliverance and will stay in captivity to the spirit influencing his life. Of course, Christ can deliver non-believers as a way of showing them who he is and the authority that he has in the spiritual universe, but someone who has repeatedly been influenced by demonic or unclean spirits and still has not committed to Christ, more than likely will reject deliverance. Salvation should come first before deliverance is attempted. As a matter of fact, the very commitment that the person makes to Jesus will bring about deliverance on its own.

Conclusion:

Deliverance can be a fight. Certainly, a deliverance session is a form of warfare against spirits who do not have the best interest of their victims in mind. With faith and determination, we can weld the powerful Name of Jesus as our means of bringing about deliverance, but we may have to deal with attachment, mental illness, and a lack of faith in Christ before we attempt deliverance

Publishing Delay

Just wanted to let you know that I am having difficulty finding a Christian publisher for the Spirit Universe book.  I have had two publishers reject the manuscript as being not a "good fit" for their company.

This shows how misunderstood and neglected the whole ministry of deliverance is in the church. I will keep on trying to find a publisher, and when I do I will let you know in this blog. So, keep on checking back to get the news.

Pastor Jerry Jochem

Book Update:

Just wanted to write a brief post about the new paperback book I am publishing concerning the Christian approach to the paranormal and supernatural. Here is the Introduction to the book:

I want to touch four audiences through this book. The first audience includes Christians who are involved or want to become involved in a Christian deliverance ministry. This book holds invaluable information that you need to know to effectively minister in deliverance.

The second audience includes those who have “psychic” experiences and abilities that they have to deal with frequently. This book will show you the way to submit your abilities to God through the Holy Spirit and how to use them for the common good.

The third group who will benefit from this book are those conducting parapsychological research or ghost hunting. The technical aspects of this book will be of great value to them.

Finally, this book will be of help to those seeking a way out of the occult, Witchcraft, Satanism, Spiritism, and New Age movement.

Every topic involved in this blog is discussed in greater detail in the book. Also, new additions to the book make it a great start up resource for those interested in deliverance ministry. Deliverance ministry is sadly neglected in many churches and it is my hope that this book will help change that sad state.

Keep checking back and I will announce when the book is available for you to get.

Dear Reader:

I have not posted to this blog in a considerable period of time.   I am working on my book, "The Spirit Universe" so that I can publish it in a paperback edition.I am updating the book to reflect my current thinking concerning such topics as deliverance ministry, and, of course, I am correcting errors I found in the original version.
As a result of this work, the original version is no longer published on Amazon. Please stay tuned to this blog because when the updated paperback version is ready, I will put a link in this blog to the publisher's site so that you can buy it for your collection.  Be patient because this may take some time. The book is an invaluable asset for you to have whether you are doing paranormal research, deliverance ministry, or ghost hunting. The new and corrected edition will help you in a deliverance ministry because the focus of the new book is to help you develop a deliverance team.
Of course, the book is Christ centered and evangelistic so it is a great resource if you are dealing with those in the occult. Even if you purchased the e-book version, it is worth while getting the new edition in paperback. Once again, stay tuned for there is more to come. Do not forget that you can contact me if you need help and I will try to answer your questions as best I can.

Pastor Jerry
Note: Blogger has removed my original background image for this blog and I am not sure how to get it back again. So, please ignore any references to the original background that I made in past posts. Sorry but this was done without my knowledge or permission.

Deliverance or Ghost Hunting?

Introduction:
I recently received a telephone call requesting that my church deliverance ministry team perform a deliverance service because the people thought they were being influenced by demonic or negative spirits and energy. When I told them that we would also have to check out their residence and that we would be using such tools as EMF meters and cameras, they became quite concerned and confused. They said they did not want a "ghost hunting" team because they were afraid that ghost hunters would stir up the spirits and make things much worse for them. They were already experiencing such phenomena as the sound of footsteps, objects moving, and feelings of oppression and didn't want the situation to become worse. It became apparent to me that they did not know the difference between a deliverance ministry and a paranormal research group, and I want to discuss two of those differences in this post.

Differences in Purpose:
Most paranormal groups exist in order to simply document phenomena. They do not intend to disrupt or change the supernatural environment in any way. They may attempt to make a judgment as to whether the phenomenon is dangerous or not, but their ultimate goal is simply to report substantiating evidence that something supernatural is actually happening. While this goal can have a positive effect in confirming to the people experiencing the phenomenon that in fact something supernatural is happening, it does not bring any relief from or real understanding of the phenomenon itself.
The purpose of a deliverance ministry is totally different from that of a paranormal research group. A deliverance ministry attempts to determine what is actually going on spiritually, and then to bring about significant spiritual change both in the individuals involved as well as the environment.
While a deliverance ministry may use the same tools as a paranormal research group to establish the reality of the supernatural phenomenon, the deliverance ministry has no intent to either communicate with spirits or to give them permission to continue interfering with the lives of living people. In other words, a paranormal research group is there to document the phenomenon, while  a deliverance ministry group is there to eliminate the impact and influence of spirits and negative energy.

Differences in Power and Authority:
If a paranormal research group or a ghost hunting group does attempt to change the paranormal environment it may use some form of shamanistic or ritualistic method. Exorcisms of this type do not depend on the faith of the group, and are not founded in the authority and power of Christ through the Holy Spirit. These types of exorcisms may bring about a measure of relief, but because they do not exercise real authority in the spirit universe,  this relief is temporary or may actually make the situation much worse over time. In most cases, however, a paranormal group simply does not have the power to initiate any kind of change in the energy environment. They may record the presence of spirits or energy, but they can not do anything about it.
The Christian deliverance ministry is based on the authority and power of Christ through the Holy Spirit. While the group itself does not "possess" this power, it is authorized by Christ to bring about a change in the supernatural environment through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12. As a result, spirits can be dismissed and commanded to leave both the individual and the environment, and negative energy can be transformed into positive energy. There is no spirit or negative energy that can resist the power of God, and so no matter how difficult the situation may seem, the deliverance ministry is more than capable of handling it.

Conclusion:
While both the deliverance ministry and paranormal research group might use the same tools to document spiritual phenomena, their purpose, power, and authority is radically different. With these differences in mind, individuals experiencing troublesome paranormal phenomenon should not hesitate to call a deliverance ministry to help free them from both frightening and potentially harmful experiences. Because of the absolute control that Christ has over the spirit universe, a deliverance ministry shall always produce positive effects. On the other hand, a group who simply documents paranormal phenomena may, unintentionally, make the situation worse and therefore extreme care must be exercised by paranormal research groups to do no harm.

Check The Source

Introduction:
An individual who receives paranormal information is doing so through his nervous system. That nervous system does not change based on the source of the information. For a Christian who is Spirit filled, this means that his nervous system will be involved whether the source of his information is demonic or divine. I would like to talk about three sources of paranormal information commonly experienced by a hypersensitive person.

God is the source:
The path for Christian God consciousness is biblically clear. There must first come belief in Jesus Christ so that salvation takes place, that is followed by water baptism as a means of dedicating one's life to following the Lord Jesus, and finally there must be an empowering or energizing of the Christians through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Once these three objectives have been reached, the conscious awareness of the presence of God becomes a daily experience. Most importantly, the individual is now able to discern between godly and other sources of influence and knowledge. This ability to discern the source of his paranormal experience is based on the fact that he has experienced the person of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. At this point he can reject any other source of information and focus on only that which is inspired by the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in first Corinthians 12.

Satan is the source:
By using the word "Satan" I mean any kind of demonic spirit or entity. Some higher spirit, that is a spirit that does not obviously  portray itself as a simple demon, has been been Biblically called a "spirit of light" and can very cleverly portray itself as a divine source. These kinds of spirits can cause a great deal of religious confusion because their primary purpose is to prevent establishing a genuine relationship with God through Christ. People in contact with these "spirits of light" honestly believe they are in contact with an angel or some emissary of God. This type of spirit always violates God's Word and will preach a gospel contrary to the gospel preached by the Holy Spirit as found in the Bible. They will also teach and preach psychic methodologies which, when practiced, bring the individual into captivity.

Self is the source:
People  are influenced by all sorts of psychological needs and drives, some of which are subconscious and will only appear when there is a an attempt to release the subconscious into the consciousness through meditation or disassociation techniques. The information derived from this release can often appear to be paranormal and supernatural, but is actually only the psychological interpretation of the individual. This kind of source is actually a "mental guess" put together by a complex mental process of deduction which goes beyond normal everyday consciousness. The difficulty with this source is that it is biased by the attitudes, beliefs, and previous mental assumptions of the individual. As a result, it can produce incorrect or defective information on which the hypersensitive acts. For example, a psychic doing a psychic reading may project his own psychological state on the person he is supposedly doing a reading for. This type of source can be not only defective, but it also can be dangerous and harmful to other people.

Conclusion:
It is extremely important that a hypersensitive check the source of his information. If he is in a ministry which utilizes the spiritual gifts, he can be confident that God is the source and that he can learn to be highly accurate as he serves God through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, those who have sources that are either demonic or that originate from self, can give harmful and destructive information to other people, even though it appears to be paranormal and godly in nature. To those who seek paranormal information, one must aware of the source and reject any ungodly source be it demonic or simply originating out of self.

Side effects of being Hypersensitive

Introduction;

 

In this blog and in my book, those who have a higher than normal level of sensitivity to the spirit universe are called "hyper sensitives". If sensitivity to the spirit universe is distributed like intelligence in the human population, then the degree of sensitivity can vary from nearly normal to extreme. In most cases, the farther away a person operates from  "normal" sensitivity towards extreme sensitivity is also a measure of the comprehensiveness and frequency of the side effects that a person will experience during his life time.

 

Side effects:

 

The side effects resulting from being spiritually hypersensitive cover every aspect of   life. Such sensitivities influence his child hood development, emotional / physical health, and his social standing, .  I will not be able to fully discuss each of these categories, but I would like to mention a few of the more significant side effects commonly experienced by many hypersensitive people.

Childhood Development:

Most hyper sensitives begin to realize that they are "different" than other people at a very young age. If this understanding does not come from himself, his peer group will certainly let him know that he is strange and unacceptable. This produces three responses:

1. he isolates himself from his peers,
2. he will try to normalize himself by rejecting his hypersensitivity,
3. he will, at a later age, pursue both coming to terms with his abilities and developing a greater understanding of how they operate so that he can control them.

 By in large, hypersensitive kids have a tough going of it, and too often develop both painful and dysfunctional ways of coping with their sensitivity.  Ultimately, these side effects shape and control who he is as an adult. 

Emotional/Physical health:

Both the emotional and physical health of a hypersensitive person can be disrupted by the sheer volume and intensity of what he is experiencing. If the hypersensitive does not learn to differentiate between his own emotions from those that he is sensing, emotional chaos will take place. The more sensitive, the more likely that the person will experience mental and emotional illness. If the sensitive person has practiced meditation techniques which also produce disassociation, the person can develop a personality fragment which is out of control and can produce psychotic  and delusional mental states. (For more about this see my book.)

In the same manner, constant exposure to spiritual negative energy can weaken the immune system to produce recurrent physical sickness, most of which is stress related. If the person is involved with demonic spirits, such spirits can have a direct effect on both  the mental and physical, resulting in depression, anxiety, and disease.

Social Standing:

The desire to belong to a group of people who are also sensitive to the spirit universe, who are experiencing the same things, and who will accept him and allow him to feel that he finally belongs to a group, is highly understandable and should be encouraged. The difficulty is that many of the groups offering these benefits are involved with basically negative uses of hypersensitivity. Groups that practice witchcraft, the occult, and meditative practices can only make the situation of the hypersensitive much worse, as they involve him in more and more destructive energy and practices.  In many cultures, a role is found for the hypersensitive as a priest or local spiritual leader, but once again, the direction of these people tends to be negative and can actually victimize the hypersensitive.  

 

The Solution:

Since we are focused on spiritual abilities, the answer to dealing with them in a healthy manner is a spiritual answer.  The focus of all hypersensitivity must be to be involved with positive energy which means Godly energy  Such emotions as divine love, compassion, and empathy, as well as such mental abilities as wisdom, knowledge, and understanding can only be found in relationship to God who is the Lord of the spirit universe. This relationship can be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ. Once that faith is established, then the Holy Spirit becomes involved , and the abilities of the hypersensitive  come under the leadership and control of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then insures their safe development and use. One of the most significant changes takes place when the hypersensitive begins to serve God by using the Gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12. This elevates the person's hypersensitivity to new levels and gives it a new purpose and so for the hypersensitive a whole new and exciting spiritual adventure begins

 

 



Deliverance Issues

Deliverance is a Process

Introduction:

During the years that this blog has been available to the public, I have gotten several help requests, in which people expressed their disappointment that they were not immediately delivered from the influence of spirits that have been with them for a long period of time.

After years of suffering under the domination of an evil or unclean spirit, it is completely understandable as to why these folk want "instantaneous" deliverance. Yet, it is important for them to understand that complete deliverance will take place in stages and that patience is required and impatience is the enemy. I would like to briefly discuss the stages of deliverance in this post.

Stage 1: A Freed Life
^8:35  And people went to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, because the demons were gone. But the people were frightened. Luke 8:35 (NCV)
The man mentioned in this Scripture was tormented by a terribly abusive spirit for many years. Yet, at the command of Jesus, the spirit left and the man was set free and was in his "right mind."  The demon was forced to obey the command of Christ because of His authority in the spirit universe and because of the sheer power that He could apply.

A Christian who knows the authority given to him by Jesus, and is familiar with the power given to him by the Holy Spirit can have the same results as Jesus. Actually that is the quickest and easiest part of deliverance, but what follows may not be as easy.

Please note that this Scripture implies that not only was the man tormented by a spirit, but may have been out of his right mind, which is another way of saying that he may have had a mental illness as well. So he was delivered and healed at the same time.

Stage 2: A Holy Life
¹⁴  Later, Jesus found the man at the Temple and said to him, “See, you are well now. Stop sinning so that something worse does not happen to you.“
John 5:14 (NCV)
A lifestyle or unrepentant sin is an open door to spirit possession. The kinds of spirits that are most commonly involved with possession actually wander though our world looking for people who have these sin based doors open for them to enter.  Even if you go through stage 1 of deliverance, repetition of sin invites your tormenting spirit back, and Jesus indicated that even worst kinds of spirits will take ownership because you have not changed your ways.

If you do not want to return to the suffering of spirit possession, then be brutally honest with yourself and examine your ways. Don't try to justify or excuse your sinful behavior, but change it. If you can't change it by yourself, then seek help from your Pastor, trusted friends in your church, a self-help group, or a Christian counselor. 

Stage 3: A Victorious Life
 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. ¹¹  Put on the full armor of God so that you can fight against the devil’s evil tricks. ¹²  Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world. ¹³  That is why you need to put on God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing. ¹⁴  So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist and the protection of right living on your chest. ¹⁵  On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong.¹⁶  And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One. ¹⁷  Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17 (NCV)

This rather lengthy portion of Scripture describes exactly what you need to do in Stage 3 of your deliverance experience.  It clearly tells you that you need to go to war because you have all that you need to win the battle. Unfortunately, once the doors to the occult and spirit universe are open to lower spirits, the battle to stay free of their influence can take years to win.  Personally, I was in battle for at least 6 years after my salvation experience, with waves of demonic attack taking place within regular intervals. If you also suffer from a mental condition, then the battle may take a life time to gain complete victory. 

Conclusion:
Many wish there was some kind of "magic wand" that could bring immediate deliverance without the voyage into holiness and victory in battle, but that magic wand does not exist and it takes work and persistence to be free. 

If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Demonizing Religion-Christian/Islamic Solutions–Final Post

Before you proceed to read this post, please read parts 1,  2 and 3 first. These posts are a supplement to Chapter 8 of “The Spirit Universe” by Pastor Jerry Jochem.

Introduction
Both Muslims and Christians face a common truth. What Islam does tells the world about the character of Allah. What the Christian Church  does tells the world about who Jesus Christ is. If these statements are true then both Muslims and Christians have distinct actions to take relating to Islam.

The Muslim Solution
What every Muslim has to ask himself is whether Allah is a blood thirsty deity who demands human sacrifices through the beheading, mutilating, mass murder, or crucifixion of Christians.  If the answer to that question is yes, than as a Muslim you really need to examine why it is that you would submit to or worship a god that shows all the characteristics described as those possessed by Satan? With this realization it may be time to start from scratch and begin to search for the true God.
If the answer is no, that is not the nature of the Allah  to which you submit, then you must ask yourself what actions you need to take to stop the demonization of your fellow Muslims and to protect the reputation of Allah. The real question is what you as a Muslim are going to do about those 100 commands in the Quran which promote violence and classify Allah as a murdering demon. So, if you want to continue to be a Muslim who defends Islam then you must do two things: Recognize the problem with the Quran, and determine the source of the problem. Only when these things are accomplished can the Muslim spiritual communities take unified corrective action to resolve the problem.  I would like to briefly discuss each step as follows

Recognize the Problem: If you do not admit that there is a problem then you will never correct it or be free of it. of course, Muslims believe that the Quran is the inspired message of God, and so to admit that some of it has been influenced by a demonic spirit that was in control of Mohammad is equal  to blasphemy and therefore, according to the Quran, you can be killed as readily as a Christian.  One possible solution to this problem is to take a different approach to those 100+ commands for violence by restricting them to the past.  Those commands should be made irrelevant to modern day Islam, and should be ignored in preference to the more beneficial teachings of Islam.

Determine the Source: The blood is found on the hands of the Islamic leaders (Imams) who focus on the commands that cultivate hate and violence towards others. In order to correct for the inherent problem with the Quran, the religious leadership needs to establish moral standards that govern what and how the Quran may be taught. Unfortunately, such a collective effort of the leadership seems to be impossible because of serious conflicts within Islam.  What is needed is a Muslim leader who can unify Islam and direct it towards a civilized understanding of how it is to be applied as a practical and tolerant religion.  Unfortunately, I have as yet to see even peaceful Muslim leadership declare the need for rationality in teaching the Quran, and if such a leader arose, it is more likely that he would be killed as a heretic rather than immerging as a reformer.

The Christian Response
Christ gave us clear guidance as to how we are to treat our enemies:
Matthew 5:43-44(NCV)
⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^£ and hate your enemies.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.
Romans 12:17-21(NCV)
¹⁷If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. ¹⁸Do your best to live in peace with everyone. ¹⁹My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: “I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them,” says the Lord. ²⁰But you should do this:   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;  if he is thirsty, give him a drink.  Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head.”  Proverbs 25:21-22 ²¹Do not let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.
 There are a a few points that these Scriptures make very clear and I would like to discuss them briefly in the following comments:

• Nothing in these Scriptures prevents a Christian or Christian nation from defending itself against the barbaric and inhuman acts of the demonized Islamic movement.
• Any action taken should not be equivalent to the action of the enemy. That is, no revenge should be sought against those who have committed the horrific acts.  Instead, justice must be served through legal process. If we act out of revenge, we become as the enemy is.
• Our greatest weapon is prayer for justice and for God to act to defend His children.  That prayer must be based on the faith that God will act, and His actions will be the final judgment on those who murder, torture, and persecute His children.
• A demonized Muslim is devoted to killing Christians and destroying the Christian faith. Even so, we are told to be ready to extend  to them mercy and compassion.  The command to love our enemies is what differentiates the Bible from the Quran, the love of the true God is reflected in this Biblical command while the 109 statements that encourage violence in the Quran reflects the true nature of  the spirit that dictated it.

Conclusion:

The final statement in Romans 12:21 is “Do not let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.” You can not defeat a demon by becoming demonic. The best we can do is offer Salvation through Jesus Christ to the Muslim world.  It is dangerous and perhaps deadly to do this, but history proves that 100 missionaries are worth more than 1000 bombs.  As Christians we need to pray for Muslims and be ready to support them when they convert to Christ.

If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Demonizing Religion– Part 3 A Lesson from Islam

Before you proceed to read this post, please read parts 1 and 2 first. These posts are a supplement to Chapter 8 of “The Spirit Universe” by Pastor Jerry Jochem.

Introduction
The reason that I am using Islam as an example of a demonizing religion is not out of prejudice or hatred for Muslims, rather it is because Islam has proven itself to be  one of the most demonizing religions that has ever existed, both in terms of contemporary radicalization and  historically as well. As I write this post I want to make sure that you understand my position.
First, I do not believe that all Muslims are demonized just because they believe in Allah or that Mohammad was a prophet. In fact, I think that the vast majority of Muslims abhor and fear the kinds of cruel, and barbaric behavior displayed by their demonized fellow believers. It is my considered opinion though, that you cannot separate the evil works of the religious from the religion that sponsors it. In other words, you can not declare that Islam is innocent when it justifies the use of evil behavior in order to spread its influence, especially when those behaviors involve the destruction of those who do not believe that Allah is God.

I plan to show you how the demonic inspired Mohammad to include doctrines in Islam that clearly prescribe demonic behavior from those who follow Islam with a passion.  In my last post, I stated that you could evaluate a religion by looking at its founder, the method that was used to establish it, and the spiritual seeds it plants in believers. So lets take a brief look at Islam to see what we can find out about each of these components. This post is a quick review so I will insert links to other websites that get into the topic more comprehensively.

The Founder:
Mohammad was the founder of Islam. The information which follows was taken from a source over thirty years old.  If you look for modern day information you will find websites that either sanitize the reputation of Mohammad by writing about him as a virtuous holy man (see this link or here.), or you will find sites that describe him as a monster.  I strongly suspect that the truth lays somewhere between these two extremes.

There are a few things that we know about Mohammad which are historically correct. First, he was orphaned at the age of 6 when his mother died and then raised by his paternal grandfather until his grandfather died when Mohammad was 8 years old. Custody was transferred to his paternal uncle. I believe the lack of a stable family life had a deep impact on Mohammed and instilled in him a desire to have constancy, something he lacked in his childhood.
 Second, he was a powerful leader to such an extent that by the end of his life he had thousands of followers and had established Islam as a major religion.
Thirdly, he supported himself and his family by attacking and raiding the rich caravans from Mecca, so he was a thief who stole from the rich in his culture.
Fourthly, he had a strong propensity for violence and aggression. For example, he fought several battles (i.e. the Battle of Mecca) in which many were killed. He also attacked the last of the Jewish tribes in Median known as the Banu Qurayza in a bloodthirsty genocide in which 800 people were beheaded by Mohammad because they refused to convert to his religion. This love of violence is important to understand the demonic seed planted in the Quran. It is not out of accident that the sword is part of the flag of Islamic nations. For more detailed information concerning Mohammad’s violent character see   
this link.
One final thought about Mohammad that is unique to this blog is that he was a hypersensitive, that is, someone who was extremely sensitive to the spiritual universe and had been influenced by the forces and powers of the spirit universe from early childhood.  Some of his childhood experiences that are generally considered to be myths may have a ring of truth to them. For more information see this link.

The Method:
 Tradition has it that Mohammad retreated to a local cave to meditate, and while in this state of meditation a luminous spirit appeared to him, identified itself as the Archangel Gabriel, told Mohammad that he was a prophet, and began to dictate a series of theological doctrines that later became the Quran. This basic description raises a lot of red flags for those familiar with the operation of demonic spirits in spiritualism and I would like to discuss them as follows:
   
First, unsupervised meditative states that produce psychological disassociation are extremely dangerous for a hypersensitive because they promote the development of a psychic receptive personality fragment. (For more detailed information about this personality disorder, please see my book). One of the characteristics of this induced personality fragment is that while it is extremely hypersensitive, it does not discern between demons and other spirits. That means that it can easily become a victim of  a type AL spirit who can take control of the hypersensitive for its own demonic purpose – to create and propagate false religion.

Second, Angels of God serve as His messengers, but they are not theologians and do not prescribe religious doctrine. Never in either the Old or New testaments will you find an angel promoting theological doctrines of religion. In the Old Testament, God established Judaism through Moses and the prophets. In the New Testament, God spoke through Jesus and the Apostles.  In either case, angels were not involved and there is a good reason for this.  Angels do not truly understand salvation (See 1 Peter 1:12) and as a result, they can not create doctrines of salvation that are valid, especially if they present a doctrine which does not declare Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation for all men.  Any supernatural being that comes to establish a religion which bypasses Christ is a demonic spirit intent on deceiving and misleading men.

The Seed:
 Many of the commands given in the Quran would be beneficial to society as a whole. However, the demonic seed planted in the Quran commands and justifies horrible acts of violence. In fact, there are over 100 commands in the Quran which require Muslims to act violently toward unbelievers and others who disagree with the Quran itself. For a more detailed analysis of the demonic seed implanted in the Quran and quoted directly form the Quran, see this link.
Admittedly there are similar statements in the Old Testament that  are commands of violence, but these statements differ in two critical ways:

1. The commands for violence in the Old Testament are focused on a limited group of tribes that were sworn enemies of Israel and would have wiped Israel out of existence.  The commands for violence in the Quran are open ended and apply to anyone who does not believe in Allah or the Quran.
2. The commands for violence in the Old Testament are specifically structured to apply to the time of warfare. No one in their right minds would take these commands and apply them to anyone today. So the Old Testament commands are historical accounts rather than present day imperatives The commands for violence in the Quran are easily applied not only to the present but also to the future.

The most important effect of these commands for violence against non-believers in the Quran, is that they open the spiritual door to demonic influence if not possession. Since the commands accomplish the goals of the Kingdom of Darkness, they draw Muslims, who may already have a psychological  problem with violence, into a most destructive and inhuman spiritual condition – they truly become like the devil and take pride in their condition. So Islam provides at least 100 ways a person can become demonized simply by believing what the Quran says.

The Actions:  Take a look at what the Quran identifies as acceptable and permissible attitudes and  behaviors for a Muslim who is passionate about following its commands:
      Quran (8:55) - Surely the vilest of animals in Allah's  sight are those who disbelieve

Quran (48:29) - Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard (ruthless) against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves
Quran (9:30) - And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah... Allah (Himself) fights against them. How perverse are they!
Quran (8:12) - I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them
Quran (9:123) - O you who believe! Fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness
Quran (5:33) - The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement

Keeping in mind what Jesus said about the works of the Devil: He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature,for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44), can there be any question that the above commands in the Quran represent the intent of the Kingdom of Darkness and the will of the Devil? When these actions are brought into reality by applying them to the people of the world, and particularly to Christians who choose to believe in Christ, then the doorway to the demonic is opened, and people suffer and die to the delight of the demonized militant Muslim who is so deceived that he believes his horrendous actions fulfill the desires of God.

Conclusion:
In my next post, I am going to discuss some of the solutions to the problem of demonization in Islam from both the Christian and Muslim perspective.  In these last few posts, I have expressed some rather strong personal opinions about Islam and I would invite any comments you might have concerning some of my conclusions. Please be aware that any threats, attacks, or negative emotional outbreaks will not be published so don’t bother to post them.

If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Demonizing Religion Part 2

A Supplement to The Spirit Universe a Christian View available at this Book Site

Introduction
My book called The Spirit Universe:  A Christian View has been published for over a year now. While the reviews have been, by and large, favorable, questions and criticism have been made that I would like to address in this post. Please bear in mind that criticism, if it is healthy, can only lead to improvement, so I address them by trying to clarify the theology and personal experiences made in the book. In this post, the questions or statements made will be in bold font followed by the answers in normal font.  If anyone who reads this post has additional questions, I encourage them to leave comments here.

Is some of the book extra-Biblical?
Yes, parts of the book are speculative and not readily supported by Scripture. The reason for this extra-Biblical content is that the Bible does not address all the issues that I write about in the book, so speculation based on experience and logical deduction derived from observed facts is all I had to go on. Being extra-Biblical is not wrong, and it does not mean that the conclusions in the book contradict what the Bible does say about some of these subjects. A teaching or conclusion which contradicts Biblical doctrine is called heretical, and I have gone to great lengths to avoid even the slightest suggestion of heresy. One of the reviews of the book states that “As I read this work, I did not sense any violation of Christian doctrine.”, and that statement tells me I did a good job keeping the book within the confines of orthodox Christian doctrine.

The term “Hypersensitive” was overemphasized because other people experience God deeply.
In my book, I define a hypersensitive as someone with a greater than average sensitivity to the spirit universe as a whole. I treat sensitivity to the spirit universe as if it is distributed in the human population like intelligence is distributed. There are those with little or no sensitivity to the spirit universe (hyposensitives), those with average sensitivity (Normal sensitivity) and those with a way above average sensitivity (hypersensitivity). By definition, anyone who experiences God deeply is a hypersensitive because such a relationship and experience, sadly, exceeds the norm.  Sensitivity is not based on denomination, religion or faith but on personal experience. Many hypersensitives are deeply involved with demonic religions. My book is written to reach out to those who are truly hypersensitive and show them the way that a Christian can adapt to their hypersensitivity in a spiritually healthy manner through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and by surrendering their hypersensitivity to the Lord. 

It is incorrect to say that those who have not experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit have not experience communion with God.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not about communion with God. In my book, I illustrate this point by showing the reader that the Holy Spirit is living in everyone who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  What the Holy Spirit Baptism does is empower the Christian to work in the supernatural as an effective way of witnessing about Christ. It is exceedingly important for a hypersensitive to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit so that his sensitivities can be “tuned” to God and his works conform to the supernatural gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12.  Before salvation, he was empowered by demonic spirits in the Kingdom of Darkness, and once saved he must be empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve in the Kingdom of Light as a follower of Christ and that is exactly what the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is all about.

Why does God allow people to become ghosts?
This is a matter of free will. God seems to hold our free will in the highest esteem. He will not do anything to violate our free will because that would make us less than human, and certainly this Is not in his vision for humankind So, where you spend eternity is dependent on the choices you make while alive. If you choose Christ, subsequently your destination is heaven where He lives – it is absolutely true that there are no Christian ghosts.  On the other hand, if you choose to worship the world and immerse yourself in its passions and in doing so reject Christ, then you spend eternity in a place where God is not present in any way. We generally call this place hell.  This is the general rule and way of things, but there seem to be exceptions to the rule. Some folk have become so focused and so driven by the passions of the earth (which are mainly sinful and controlling) that they osculate between their destiny in hell and their existence on earth. This is a ghost and a most pitiful creature at that.  Eventually, all ghosts will end up where they belong as their earthly passions grow weak and they are pulled into hell. Ghosts have no purpose, their future is horrific, and their present is a  torment.

Why do some who are Baptized in the Holy Spirit fail to have all the gifts.
The power of God which is released when a Christian is Baptized in the Holy Spirit is structured by the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Cor 12.  These manifestations of God’s power are gifts given for the benefit of the whole body. As gifts, they do not belong to and are not controlled by the people who are administrating them – they are not psychic abilities but expressions of God’s grace and love for the needy and wanting in His Kingdom.  So, not everyone gets the same gifts because the Holy Spirit distributes them according to need and not the desire of the person chosen to administer them.  However, keep in mind that every Christian, who has been Baptized in the Holy Spirit can receive any or all the gifts as the Holy Spirit gives them out during a ministry.  One gift which is universal and the first evidence of the Holy Spirit Baptism (as Biblically demonstrated in the Book of Acts) is speaking in tongues. This post is not the place to get into details about speaking in tongues. Keep in mind that if you have a problem about how the gifts are distributed; you need to talk to the person who givens them out to His people, and that is the Holy Spirit.

Are Pentecostal or Charismatic churches more subject to error than other denominations such as Baptist or Methodist.
No, absolutely not.  While my church is an Assembly of God Church that believes in and encourages its members to get the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, this is in addition to the Fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.) is considered as important as the Gifts of the Spirit for spiritual growth. The point is that a Christian should have available to him both the Fruit and the Gifts. Church dogma which rejects one for the other is out of balance and a major error.  Finally, the basic belief system of a healthy church is based on the foundation of the full Gospel, and not just parts of the Gospel. Spirit filled churches that begin to reject the foundation of the Word get themselves into trouble because they are rejecting the only criteria by which they can judge what is occurring in the Church and whether they are pleasing God.  On the other hand, a church which rejects the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can easily fall into legalism and ritualism.  The key is balance and careful diligence on the part of the leadership of the Church. While a Pastor has a large influence on the nature of a church, if he is listening to God and following the instructions of the Holy Spirit, then positive church growth will take place, if not in numbers, then in the maturity of his sheep.  Each person must choose then, the church and Pastor which will be best for him, and once he makes that choice must submit to the Holy Spirit and to the leadership of the Pastor in order to grow.  This principle is valid regardless of the denomination or fellowship that the church affiliates with.

If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Demonizing Religion Part I–Basic Concepts.

A supplement to Chapter 8 of “The Spirit Universe” by Pastor Jerry Jochem.

Introduction
Please note that most of the terms that I use in this post are defined in my book, and many of the concepts I present here are fully developed and supported by Scripture in my book as well.  I am not going to redefine these terms or elaborate on the basic concepts, so I strongly suggest that you get the book to answer any questions you may have from this post.

A Matter of Kingdoms
The geography of the spiritual universe is basically very simple. There is heaven and anywhere else is hell. Given this elementary dichotomy, it is also apparent that spirits of heaven or from heaven belong to the Kingdom of God, while all others, regardless of claims otherwise, belong to the Kingdom of Darkness. The Word symbolizes these two kingdoms metaphorically; that is, the Kingdom of Light belongs to God and is ruled by God, while the Kingdom of Darkness belongs to Satan and is ruled by Satan.  A most  compelling understanding about these two kingdoms is that the Kingdom of Light is governed by the qualities of the nature of God such as love, mercy, compassion and Holiness, while the Kingdom of Darkness is governed by the qualities of Satan, which include deception, murder, destruction and a profane rejection of anything Godly.  We most commonly understand and identify the qualities of the Kingdom of Darkness as being “evil," a term somewhat underused in today’s culture.

All of humanity is walking a path which automatically leads to the Kingdom of Darkness.  Because of their inherent separation from God, good people need to do nothing to end up in hell serving and suffering under the dominion of Satan.  God offered us a new path,  and that path begins with the  acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal savior. Making the choice for Christ leads us into heaven and out of the grasp of Satan.

False Religion
Many human beings do not believe or accept  that they need a relationship with Christ to escape Satan, but one clear fact of the spiritual universe is that every demon knows that humanity needs Christ, and so they are determined to stop people from receiving the gift  of salvation through Christ. In short, demonic spirits know that they must keep you from making a commitment to Christ, and if they simply stop you then you become their prey and victim. One way they can achieve this goal is by creating religions to distract you from salvation and to make you submit to their evil intent and actions.  Since they attempt to counterfeit the purposes and nature of the Kingdom of Light, I would like to label this form of religion as “false religion.”
I would like to introduce two more concepts in Part 1 of this post.

The Transforming power of Evil.
The first concept is that evil has the ability to transform good into the likeness of itself.  Evil thoughts, beliefs, and practices mutate good until it ceases to be good.  In this sense, evil can be both transmitted and self-generating.  It is a primary objective of the darkness to create as much evil in the hearts of man as possible.  It is through this process that man can become demonized.

Type AL spirits
The second concept is that there exists a special type of spirit whose entire purpose is to create false religions and by doing so, plant the seeds of the Kingdom of Darkness world-wide. I have called this type of Demon a Type Angel of Light (Type AL) as described in 2 Corinthians 11:14 (ICB) ¹⁴This does not surprise us. Even Satan changes himself to look like an angel of light.
These demonic spirits seek out and communicate deceptive, lying, and evil doctrines or teachings to those who are hypersensitive to the spiritual universe, and they target the  most base characteristics of those who listen to them.  The doctrine they promote has the  purpose of opening believers to demoniacal influences if not actual possession.  It is through these doctrines that the process of human demonization begins.

An Example:
In my next post, I am going to illustrate these concepts by using Islam as an example.  I have no hatred of Islam or Muslims, but Islam has proven itself to be the most demonizing religion of all time, and it is a textbook  example as to how the Kingdom of Darkness is promoted among men.

If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Book Review Criticisms and Questions Answered.

A Supplement to The Spirit Universe a Christian View available at this Book Site

Introduction
My book called The Spirit Universe:  A Christian View has been published for over a year now. While the reviews have been, by and large, favorable, questions and criticism have been made that I would like to address in this post. Please bear in mind that criticism, if it is healthy, can only lead to improvement, so I address them by trying to clarify the theology and personal experiences made in the book. In this post, the questions or statements made will be in bold font followed by the answers in normal font.  If anyone who reads this post has additional questions, I encourage them to leave comments here.

Is some of the book extra-Biblical?
Yes, parts of the book are speculative and not readily supported by Scripture. The reason for this extra-Biblical content is that the Bible does not address all the issues that I write about in the book, so speculation based on experience and logical deduction derived from observed facts is all I had to go on. Being extra-Biblical is not wrong, and it does not mean that the conclusions in the book contradict what the Bible does say about some of these subjects. A teaching or conclusion which contradicts Biblical doctrine is called heretical, and I have gone to great lengths to avoid even the slightest suggestion of heresy. One of the reviews of the book states that “As I read this work, I did not sense any violation of Christian doctrine.”, and that statement tells me I did a good job keeping the book within the confines of orthodox Christian doctrine.

The term “Hypersensitive” was overemphasized because other people experience God deeply.
In my book, I define a hypersensitive as someone with a greater than average sensitivity to the spirit universe as a whole. I treat sensitivity to the spirit universe as if it is distributed in the human population like intelligence is distributed. There are those with little or no sensitivity to the spirit universe (hyposensitives), those with average sensitivity (Normal sensitivity) and those with a way above average sensitivity (hypersensitivity). By definition, anyone who experiences God deeply is a hypersensitive because such a relationship and experience, sadly, exceeds the norm.  Sensitivity is not based on denomination, religion or faith but on personal experience. Many hypersensitives are deeply involved with demonic religions. My book is written to reach out to those who are truly hypersensitive and show them the way that a Christian can adapt to their hypersensitivity in a spiritually healthy manner through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and by surrendering their hypersensitivity to the Lord. 

It is incorrect to say that those who have not experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit have not experience communion with God.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not about communion with God. In my book, I illustrate this point by showing the reader that the Holy Spirit is living in everyone who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  What the Holy Spirit Baptism does is empower the Christian to work in the supernatural as an effective way of witnessing about Christ. It is exceedingly important for a hypersensitive to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit so that his sensitivities can be “tuned” to God and his works conform to the supernatural gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12.  Before salvation, he was empowered by demonic spirits in the Kingdom of Darkness, and once saved he must be empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve in the Kingdom of Light as a follower of Christ and that is exactly what the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is all about.

Why does God allow people to become ghosts?
This is a matter of free will. God seems to hold our free will in the highest esteem. He will not do anything to violate our free will because that would make us less than human, and certainly this Is not in his vision for humankind So, where you spend eternity is dependent on the choices you make while alive. If you choose Christ, subsequently your destination is heaven where He lives – it is absolutely true that there are no Christian ghosts.  On the other hand, if you choose to worship the world and immerse yourself in its passions and in doing so reject Christ, then you spend eternity in a place where God is not present in any way. We generally call this place hell.  This is the general rule and way of things, but there seem to be exceptions to the rule. Some folk have become so focused and so driven by the passions of the earth (which are mainly sinful and controlling) that they osculate between their destiny in hell and their existence on earth. This is a ghost and a most pitiful creature at that.  Eventually, all ghosts will end up where they belong as their earthly passions grow weak and they are pulled into hell. Ghosts have no purpose, their future is horrific, and their present is a  torment.

Why do some who are Baptized in the Holy Spirit fail to have all the gifts.
The power of God which is released when a Christian is Baptized in the Holy Spirit is structured by the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Cor 12.  These manifestations of God’s power are gifts given for the benefit of the whole body. As gifts, they do not belong to and are not controlled by the people who are administrating them – they are not psychic abilities but expressions of God’s grace and love for the needy and wanting in His Kingdom.  So, not everyone gets the same gifts because the Holy Spirit distributes them according to need and not the desire of the person chosen to administer them.  However, keep in mind that every Christian, who has been Baptized in the Holy Spirit can receive any or all the gifts as the Holy Spirit gives them out during a ministry.  One gift which is universal and the first evidence of the Holy Spirit Baptism (as Biblically demonstrated in the Book of Acts) is speaking in tongues. This post is not the place to get into details about speaking in tongues. Keep in mind that if you have a problem about how the gifts are distributed; you need to talk to the person who givens them out to His people, and that is the Holy Spirit.

Are Pentecostal or Charismatic churches more subject to error than other denominations such as Baptist or Methodist.
No, absolutely not.  While my church is an Assembly of God Church that believes in and encourages its members to get the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, this is in addition to the Fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.) is considered as important as the Gifts of the Spirit for spiritual growth. The point is that a Christian should have available to him both the Fruit and the Gifts. Church dogma which rejects one for the other is out of balance and a major error.  Finally, the basic belief system of a healthy church is based on the foundation of the full Gospel, and not just parts of the Gospel. Spirit filled churches that begin to reject the foundation of the Word get themselves into trouble because they are rejecting the only criteria by which they can judge what is occurring in the Church and whether they are pleasing God.  On the other hand, a church which rejects the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can easily fall into legalism and ritualism.  The key is balance and careful diligence on the part of the leadership of the Church. While a Pastor has a large influence on the nature of a church, if he is listening to God and following the instructions of the Holy Spirit, then positive church growth will take place, if not in numbers, then in the maturity of his sheep.  Each person must choose then, the church and Pastor which will be best for him, and once he makes that choice must submit to the Holy Spirit and to the leadership of the Pastor in order to grow.  This principle is valid regardless of the denomination or fellowship that the church affiliates with.

If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Can a Christian be Possessed by a Demonic Spirit?

A Supplement to The Spirit Universe a Christian View available at this Book Site
Introduction
There are three terms that have to be defined in order to answer this question. The first term is Christian; the second is possession, and the last term is Demonic. 

Christian: I think the most basic definition of Christian is a person who believes in the person and work of Jesus Christ and who has surrendered his life and will to the Lord. As a result of his faith in Christ, the Christian experiences a new birth in the spirit that frees him from his past, and, because of his surrender, establishes a relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit in the present. Consequently,  the Christian has the fullness of the God head living within his born-again spirit. (See John 14:17-20)

Possession:  Possession means that the demonic spirit has gained control of the mind of the person possessed. The demon owns part of the possessed person and can manipulate that person as he wills..

Demonic: Demonic spirits are of two types. The first type is non-human and consists of fallen angels who have been distorted and made profane by the evil forces they generated when they rebelled against God. The second type consists of human beings who died in their sins, which were highly evil and began the process of degeneration into a demonic form. I get into a more elaborate explanation of these types in my book along with the Scriptural foundation for describing these demonic spirits..

The Question
The question is : “Can a Christian be possessed by a demonic spirit?" The answer is no – absolutely not!
A Christian cannot  be possessed by a demonic spirit because the Christian has the full God head within his spirit. No demon is powerful enough to displace God or even separate a Christian from God.  The Christian belongs and has been purchased by the Lord, and that means the Christian is no longer helplessly subject to demonic demands or commands.
Being filled with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Christian not only cannot  be possessed, but he has the spiritual power to cast any demon into hell. He can do this just with a command given in the Name of Jesus because he has the right to use the authority in the Name of Jesus.
The Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit, and that means that any type of demon cannot  possess a Christian but also, no demon would be foolish enough to challenge the Spirit of God by attempting to take possession of a Christian.

What a Demon can do!
Even though a demonic spirit cannot  possess a Christian, it can certainly oppress him.  Oppression is a systematic attack by a demon to depress, hurt, and bring misery into the life of a Christian. So a demon can do significant damage to a Christian and those around him, if the Christians allows the demon to continue its attack.
The fact is that no demon can continue its oppressive attack on a Christian if the Christian commands the demon to stop its attack in the Name of Jesus.  This may have to be done in several areas, but the demon is bound to obey such a command because of the power and authority found in the Name of Jesus.

Summary
A demon cannot  take control of a Christian, but it certainly can oppress the Christian so severely that it feels like possession.  The Christian can become free of any oppression by using the Name of Jesus to abort the mission of the demon.  Oppression will continue only if the Christian is ignorant of his power in the Name of Jesus, or does not have the faith to believe deliverance is possible.
Please note that the protection enjoyed by a Christian does not cover those who have not made a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, spirit possession, including demon possession, is a essential part of non-Christian religions. Deliverance from spirit possession may be a vital part of the salvation experience for these individuals.

If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Human Energy Field Interactions With God

A Supplement to The Spirit Universe a Christian View available at this Book Site

Introduction

In my book, “The Spirit Universe," I describe at length the feasibility and characteristics of the Human Energy Field (HEF). In this post, I would like to continue that discussion by giving a brief analysis as to how the Human Energy Field interacts with God.  I am not, however, going to discuss the reality of or evidence for the Human Energy Field, because all of that and more is discussed in the book.


The HEF and God:
One of the primary characteristics of the HEF is that it contains and can transmit information about the person who owns the field.  As a result, the HEF is the most basic way that a human being can communicate information to God. For Christians, the Holy Spirit is the communication bridge between a person and God.  This is the meaning of praying in the “Spirit." That is to say, using the information contained in the HEF our human spirit can speak to God through the Holy Spirit.  This communication does not have to be verbal or a product of our intellect.  It can be driven by our strong feelings to such an extent that the communication is exclusively emotional, and we may not even understand what is being divulged. The result is that a person, through the HEF and Holy Spirit, can  communicate beyond the limits of his consciousness.  Often any verbalizations end up as groans and grunts.


He Knows Us.
Because the HEF contains all the information about our identity and lifestyle,  nothing about ourselves can be hidden from God.  Like a book containing the most intimate details of our lives, everything is exposed and communicated to God.  Since our conscious mind may not be fully open to all the information in the HEF, God will truly know us better than we know ourselves. The wonder of all this is that He still accepts us and adopts us into His family,  knowing all about us, once we accept Christ in our lives.


Two Way Communication:
While the HEF transmits information about us, it also can receive information. Once again, the Holy Spirit is the communication bridge between God and man, and so when God wants to tell us something, the Holy Spirit will transmit the information to our HEF.  The information can be intellectual and perceived as an audible voice, or it can be felt as a strong emotion such as conviction or comfort. Understand that the information sent to us through the Holy Spirit can influence our HEF to produce visions, dreams, or “hunches." Very often one of the spiritual gifts mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12 is a key mechanism used to communicate. As a result, Christians can truly talk to God, hear God, speak prophetically, and have immersive visions from God.


HEF and the Spiritual Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:7-11(CEV) ⁷The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others. ⁸Some of us can speak with wisdom, while others can speak with knowledge, but these gifts come from the same Spirit. ⁹To others the Spirit has given great faith or the power to heal the sick ¹⁰or the power to work mighty miracles. Some of us are prophets, and some of us recognize when God’s Spirit is present. Others can speak different kinds of languages, and still others can tell what these languages mean. ¹¹But it is the Spirit who does all this and decides which gifts to give to each of us.
When the Holy Spirit enables the HEF of a Christian, the result is a supernatural gifting that involves  either the  communication of information or power. When information is communicated the believer experiences the gifts of words of wisdom or knowledge, prophecy, tongues or interpretation of tongues,  and discernment. When power is transmitted to the believer, he experiences the working of miracles, healings, and supernatural faith. Unlike psychic abilities, these gifts are totally dependent on the Holy Spirit because they originate from Him and are enabled through Him. Needless to say, the Holy Spirit “charges” the HEF with positive energy that is more potent and intense than anything that can be generated by the individual on his own.  As a result, the spiritual gifts are much more energetic, accurate, and influential than anything drummed up through self-hypnosis or resulting from the activity of a spirit, even a demonic spirit.

If you have not made a commitment to Jesus and you would like to do so now, then click HERE to go to a page that will show you how to become a follower of Jesus Christ

Demon’s Breath–A Sign of a Demonic Spirit.

A Supplement to The Spirit Universe a Christian View available at this Book Site

Introduction:
How do you know when you are dealing with a demonic spirit during an investigation or deliverance session? While the answer to that question would seem self-evident, and in some cases it is evident, one cannot  simply brand all spirits as demons and one cannot assume that all demons are equal in their degree of evil, destructiveness, and power.

Basic Principles:
A spirit can make itself known only in the context of the human energy field that it is drawing from.  That human energy field allows two-way communication. The spirit gets energized, and the people get in contact with the character and nature of the spirit that is drawing power from them.  It is an exchange of information and energy.  As a result, the spirit can modulate the energy and distort it in a way correlated to his character. This character can be sensed by the people as being separate from and different than their own.

In other words, people in contact with a spirit are like those  looking into a “funny” mirror at a circus. What they see is vaguely familiar but so badly distorted that it is unrecognizable.  It is their own energy coming back to them but now contorted by the character and personality of the spirit with which they are in contact. Even when manipulated by a non-demonic spirit,  the reflected energy is so misshapen that the image appears to be alien and otherworldly. 

There is one other important factor to keep in mind when trying to determine whether a spirit is a demon. Spirits that qualify as actual demons are not human nor will they ever be human. Now there is a type of demonic spirit that once was human but original demons are fallen angels and not of mortal derivation. When these demons contort the human energy field, the resulting energy is so profoundly convoluted by the unadulterated evil of the demonic spirit that it seems to be alien to humanity.  This alienation and dehumanizing of the energy field can take two distinct and surprisingly different forms.

Demon’s Breath: A Foul Oder of Evil.
The first form is distinctly demonic in character. The energy is best described as being horribly sinister with an intensity which leaves the investigator with creepy and menacing impressions. The energy field seems to be swirling with feelings of fear, rage, hostility, malice, malevolence, and hatred.

At the same time, physical reactions such as nausea, chest pains, scratches, weakness, dizziness, and depression can beset the investigators. Paranormal violence as well as aggressive interactions between investigators can take place, and folk may be hurt and damaged either physically or mentally.

Contact with this form of demonic spirit can cause permanent physical and psychological damage that will not readily heal.  In most cases, if you are confronted by this type of demonic spirit, you will quickly identify it as being a demon, but that is not true for the second form in which a demon can manifest itself.

Demon’s Breath: The Sweet Odor of Deception.
Normally such words as beautiful, glorious, wise, peaceful, powerful, and godlike are associated with the Holy Spirit. However, it must be remembered that Satan and his demons want to replace God and in their spiritual presumption, will actually emulate  some of the traits of God.  In my book, I call these types of demons “Angels of Light” (Type AL) and explain that their main objective is to promote false religion by undermining trust in God and His Word.  Entire nations have been impacted negatively by these demons, and millions have been lost to Christ because of their deceptions and unholy doctrines.

In this post, however, I would like to focus on the ability of these religious spirits to confuse and deceive even born-again and Spirit filled Christians.  We must always remember that our spiritual perception of spirit forms can be distorted by demonic spirits.  As a result, information or guidance that we think is coming from the Spirit of God can actually originate from a demon.

So how do we know if we are actually dealing with a demon spirit that is trying to manipulate us in some ungodly manner? Well, the following Scripture gives us insight to solve this perplexing problem:
¹ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 (ESV)
So here are some of the tests that will let  you know if you are dealing with a religious demon:

• Since  the primary function of Type AL demons is to keep people away from Christ, they will not acknowledge that Jesus is God, the savior of mankind, and the only way to the Father. In essence, they will deny that Jesus is the way, truth and life.
• They will justify their misdirection by attacking the Bible. They will say that it is erroneous, corrupted, or improperly interpreted, and then provide their own translation or supplemental material that supports their false doctrines.
• They will make assertions about God that are opposite of His revealed nature. For example, they will promote a doctrine that God wants them to kill non-believers, or punish others who do not hold to their doctrines.  This tactic can be intensely personal, for instance, Type AL demons will use condemnation to keep folk in bondage to their doctrines.
• Finally, these spirits will lie about the mercy, goodness, or intent of God.  They will declare that God does not love or care for those who have accepted Christ or that God’s intent is for evil and not good.

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