What the Bible Teaches About the Spirits

The Spirits

What the Bible Teaches Booklet No. 5

AFRICA CHRISTIAN PRESS

© 1975 AFRICA CHRISTIAN PRESS First published 1975 Illustrations by Darwin Dunham This booklet has been written for Africa Christian Press by Dr. Byang Kato ISBN 0 85352 164 6 Trade orders to these addresses: P.O. Box 1689, Kitwe, Zambia ACLA, P.O. Box 332, Roodepoort, Transvaal S. Africa Uzima Press, P.O. Box 48127, Nairobi, Kenya All other orders to: Africa Christian Press, P.O. Box 30, Achimota, Ghana Made and Printed by Green & Co. (Lowestoft) Ltd. Crown Street, Lowestoft, England

As a child I used to be very afraid of a graveyard. I am still not sure that I would be happy to spend a night in a cemetery. I think this fear comes from my pagan background, because I grew up believing that the spirits of the dead come back to haunt the living. This is a universal belief among heathen societies. But is it true? Do dead people come back as spirits? In this book we shall be looking at what spirits are and how they originated. But first we must see what the Bible teaches us about God. God is Spirit The Bible declares that ‘God is Spirit’ (John 4: 24). God as Spirit is not a vague substance such as energy. He is a Person. In fact there are three Persons within the Godhead, although there is only One God. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We call this 'Trinity'. God as Spirit does not have a body. So in order to be seen by man. God revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus Christ said, 'He who has seen me has seen the Father' (John 14: 9). In Jesus Christ, God who is Spirit has been revealed to man. Because Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, 3

He was able to die, to be buried and to rise again for our sins. As God He is Spirit, therefore He dwells in the believer today. The Apostle Paul is very fond of the expression 'Christ in you', or Christ who 'lives in me' (Galatians 2: 20). The third Person of the Trinity is called the Holy Spirit. God's nature is holiness and all the three Persons are absolutely holy. God as Spirit is absolutely different from all other classes of spirits. He is the Creator. Every aspect of His character is infinite; that is, without limit or comparison. He alone knows everything. He also can do everything that is not against His nature. God alone can be everywhere at the same time. He, therefore, belongs to a distinct category of the spiritual world, though He is Spirit. The Origin of Spirits God is the Creator of all that is. He has no beginning and no end. 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1: 1). God who always IS, created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. So in our dealing with the origin of spirits, we must exclude God. Although He too is Spirit, He is the uncreated Spirit since He Himself did the creating. All other spirits are created beings. 4

The Bible clearly teaches that all spirits were created by God. The Word of God says, 'Praise him all his angels, praise him all his host! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created' (Psalm 148: 2, 5). The Apostle Paul writes, For in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities -- all things were created through him and for him' (Colossians 1; 16). Material things are the objects that can be seen and possibly handled. Men, trees, stars, water and rocks are all visible things. The invisible are the spirit world made up of both good and evil angels or spirits. They are all created by God. They may be stronger, wiser and faster than men, but still they cannot do everything as God can. They do not know everything, nor can they be everywhere at the same time. When spirits were created is not given in the Scriptures. It is possible that they were created in the beginning before the six days creation of the earth took place. Their creation may be included with the record of creation in Genesis 1:1. One thing we know for sure is that they were created some time before the seventh day when God rested from His creation. 'Thus the heavens and the earth were 5

finished, and all the host of them’ (Genesis 2:1). This concludes that no further creation took place after the six days. Their Nature Originally All that God created was perfectly good. 'And God saw everything that he had made, and behold ,it was very good’ (Genesis 1: 31). Since God created the spirits, every spirit then must have been very good. This includes demons and even Satan himself. God never does a poor job since He is altogether lovely and has the power and wisdom to create things to His delight. A person may like fried chicken and rice. But his pocket may not be able to afford them, or his wife may lack the technique of frying really good chicken. So man may fail to get what he really loves. But it is not so with God He is able to create the most beautiful thing to suit His standard of beauty. That is what He did with creation. Everything was perfect in every conceivable way. Originally, both good and bad angels were perfect. Even Satan was perfect. His name Lucifer means the shining one or the morning star (Isaiah 14: 12). He was probably the highest being of all the created spirits. But things have changed tragically. 6

The Origin of Sin Since everything that God created was good. He cannot be responsible for all that has gone wrong with His creation. You may ask why, if God was good and all-powerful, did He allow evil to come into His beautiful universe? This question bothers me too. It has bothered philosophers and religious leaders. The ultimate answer lies with God. 'The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children, for ever, that we may do all the words of this law' (Deuteronomy 29: 29). So we do not know fully why God allowed sin to spoil His beautiful creation. But we must remember that the spirits are intelligent, personal beings with the ability and privilege to choose. The same thing applies to man. I am certainly happy that I am not a car which can be driven either into the ditch or on the street. As intelligent beings, Satan and his angels are responsible for their rebellion against God. The actual time when sin came and turned some angels and Satan into evil beings is not clearly given in the Bible. But it is clearly stated that some angels left their place of perfection and proper place of living (Jude 6). It is clearly stated that they sinned. Apparently sin first occurred in heaven with some of the angels. 7

Satan's pride and ambition were the root cause of sin. Satan was the first sinner. Although he was a 'commander-in-chief' of God's armed forces, the angels, he aspired to make himself like God. The result was that he was driven from the presence of God. Other angels who followed Satan in sinning were also expelled from the presence of God. They lost their original holiness. The fallen angels became unclean spirits or demons. Jesus sent His disciples to cast out unclean spirits (Matthew 10: 1). Some of them are still bound today in a place called Tartarus until the day of judgment (2 Peter 2: 4). Others are free to roam about. But all the evil spirits will be judged and finally cast into the lake of fire (1 Corinthians 6: 3; Matthew 25: 41). The Good Angels Angel is the term used in the Bible to describe the created spirits, and the words 'angel' and 'spirit' can be used interchangeably. The word 'angel' means a messenger or agent of some higher being. The Bible does not give us the classes of all the good angels, neither does it tell us how many angels there are, except to say that there are thousands of them. Daniel describes the multitudes of angels serving God in heaven. 'A stream of fire issued and come forth before him; a thousand thousands ser8

ved him' (Daniel 7: 10). Jesus said God could send more than twelve legions of angels at one call for help (Matthew 26: 53). One legion of Roman soldiers was between 3,000 and 6,000. So Jesus could call upon between 36,000 and 72,000 at one time and that would not be all the angels there were at God's service. In Hebrews we read of 'innumerable hosts of angels' (Hebrews 12: 22). The Word of God mentions several kinds of good angels. The Seraphim. Their name means the burning or the noble ones. We read of them only in Isaiah 6: 2, 6. They lead the heavenly hosts in the worship of God. They also purify God's servants, at least in the Old Testament period, for the worship of God. The Cherubim. Their name means those who hold fast, or the grasped ones. There are several references to them (Genesis 3: 24; 2 Kings 19: 15; Ezekiel 10: 1-20; 28:14-16). They are the guardians of the Throne of God. Their task is to guard the unapproachable holiness of God and is illustrated by their function in the Garden of Eden. 'He (God) drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the Cherubim, and a flaming sword turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life' (Genesis 3: 24). The word Seraphim does not occur in the New Testament. The word Cherubim occurs only in Hebrews 9: 5 where it speaks not of 9

the angels themselves but of the representation of winged figures that were carved and attached to the aitar of the temple. There is no indication that Christians should have any dealing with Seraphim and Cherubim. Some Christian groups pay uncalled for respect to Cherubim and Seraphim, but this has no biblical basis. Michael and Gabriel. In the Old Testament, Michael is called the chief prince, or one of the chief princes (Daniel 10: 13, 21; 12: 1). His function seems to be the protection of Israel. In the New Testament his name occurs two times. His dispute with Satan on the body of Moses is reported in Jude 9. Apparently he is the one who will announce the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4: 16). Gabriel is another angel mentioned by name. He was sent to Daniel to clarify the visions God had given (Daniel 8: 16; 9: 21). He was also sent to announce the birth of Christ (Luke 1: 19, 26). It seems that his special task was to stand between God and man, and to give God's revelation to man. The work of Spirits or Angels Their work may be summed up as follows: 10

The worship of God. We read about tins in Isaiah 6. The working out of God's will. They explain God s will to men. In Job 33: 23 an angel is called an interpreter. When Daniel was puzzled about the dream he had, an angel was sent to interpret it for him (Daniel 7: 16). They are also used to execute God's judgment. The proud Herod Antipas was struck dead by an angel. 'Immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he did not give God the glory; and he was eaten by worms and died' (Acts 12: 23). Looking after God's Chosen People Israel. King Nebuchadnezzar knew God had 'sent an angel and delivered his servants that trusted in him’ (Daniel 3: 28). The Archangel Michael was a special bodyguard for Israel (Daniel 10: 13, 21). Serving Jesus Christ. They predicted and celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1: 20; Luke 1- 11). They served Christ in His temptations and sufferings (Matthew 4: 11; Luke 22: 43). They announced His resurrection and going to heaven (Matthew 28; John 20: 12; Acts 1: 10, 11), and they will announce the coming of Jesus Christ. ‘For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first' (1 Thessalonians 4: 16). Jesus 11

Christ will send the angels to gather together God's children in the final day of judgment. 'And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other’ (Matthew 24: 31). They will also help sort out the believers from the unbelievers. ‘So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth' (Matthew 13: 49,50). Helping Christians. Good angels are described as serving spirits to the Christians. 'Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?' (Hebrews 1: 14). They minister to the Christians in various ways. They protect and deliver believers from physical hardship when God wants to give deliverance. The apostles were put in prison for preaching about Jesus. 'But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out' (Acts 5: 19). When Peter was in a condemned cell, waiting to be killed for his faith in Christ, God again sent His angel to deliver him. Peter himself testified, 'Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued 12

me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting' (Acts 12: 11). The fact that God’s good angels guard and deliver believers from danger should be a great consolation to us. One day I was driving from Kagoro to Kaduna with other pastors in the car. I was driving in a thick fog on the road I had never driven before. At a sharp bend I missed the turning and headed into the bush. There was a huge tree right in front of us. A fellow pastor sitting with me in front offered the shortest prayer he has ever offered. He simply said in Jaba language, ' Oh Nom ' repeatedly, which means 'Oh God'. The car stopped just before it hit the tree. We pushed the car back to the road and drove on after a prayer of thanks. I am convinced that the Lord sent his angel to stand between my car and the tree for protection. 13

It is wonderful to have the assurance that the Lord is able to protect us and deliver us from danger according to His good will. Let me give a note of warning here. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to pray to the angels or even ask God to send us His angels to deliver us. As a matter of fact, angels themselves rightly feel unqualified to be worshipped since they are creatures. When John wanted to worship an angel who had brought him a message, the angel replied, 'You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God' (Revelation 22: 9). We should pray to God and worship Him alone. It is up to Him to use whatever means He chooses to deliver us. Angels are present at the time of death. If a person is a Christian, an angel carries him to the presence of God. Jesus told a story about a poor man called Lazarus who was a Christian, and a rich man who was not a Christian. 'The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom' (Luke 16: 22). The wealthy unbeliever was not carried by God's angel. 'The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom' (Luke 16: 22, 23). It is 14

possible that it was an evil angel who carried the rich man to Hades. Many Christians who have lost consciousness during sickness have told of seeing angels and of having a glimpse of a wonderful place beyond this life. Not all testimonies are true, but the truth of some of them cannot be denied. Angels have a particular ministry to infants. Jesus Christ warned, 'See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven' (Matthew 18: 10). Although it is possible that each infant may have his own guardian angel, this passage does not clearly say so. It just says that infants have angels in heaven watching them. So it is wrong to seek to find out about your child's angel or to plead with a particular angel to guard your child. All prayers and worship must be directed to God through Jesus Christ alone. 'For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus ' (1 Timothy 2: 5). It also seems that angels are present at Christian worship. Speaking to the women of Corinth concerning decency in dress, Paul writes, 'That is why a woman ought to have a veil on her head, because of the angels' (1 Corinthians 11: 10). I do not think 15

that Paul's concern was the immoral lusts on the part of angels. If these angels were good ones, they were sinless messengers, but things in the house of God should be conducted decently and in order. Satan He is the head of all evil spirits and he has at least 12 names. 1. Satan. (1 Chronicles 21: 1); meaning adversary, because he is the enemy of both God and man. 2. Devil, because he is a great accuser of God's children (Revelation 12: 10). 3. Dragon, meaning a sea monster; and this describes his wild and ferocious activities (Isaiah 51:9). 4. Serpent, speaking of his deceitfulness (Genesis 3: 1). 5. Beelzebub: the meaning is uncertain (Matthew 10: 25). 6. Belial, meaning worthlessness (2 Corinthians 6: 15). 7. Lucifer, meaning the morning star, and this speaks of his beauty before he rebelled against God (Isaiah 14: 12). 16

8. Wicked one; this describes his character and work (1 John 3: 12). 9. Tempter, because he always tries to get man to sin (Matthew 4: 3). 10. God of this world; this name shows that he is behind all the religious systems of the world which oppose God (2 Corinthians 4: 4). 11. Prince of the power of the air speaks of his authority by which he commands all evil spirits (Ephesians 6: 12). 12. Prince of this world; this speaks of his possible influence over the governments of this world some of which oppose Jesus Christ (John 14: 30). Demons Satan operates all over the world. He travels between heaven and earth (Job 1). But he is a creature, and therefore he is limited. He cannot be everywhere at the same time. However he has his agents all over the world. Demons are his agents The word daimonion (demons) in Greek is wrongly translated devils in some Bibles. There is only one devil, Satan, but there are many demons or evil spirits. Several views have been put forward as to who 17

the demons are. We know that among the many angels that sinned against God, one class is bound in chains in a place called Tartarus. They will remain there till the final day, when they will be judged and cast into hell (2 Peter 2: 4; Jude 6). But there are many fallen angels who are not yet bound in Tartarus (Daniel 10: 13, 20; Revelation 12: 7; 9). Since we have the evidence of there being a class of fallen angels and that not all of them are bound yet, it is most sensible to see these fallen angels as the demons. God has numerous angels as His messengers. Satan as a counterfeit god has vast numbers of evil spirits to support him in opposing God's work. Man is not alone in the universe. There is a world of spirits, and they are fighting a severe battle day and night. But, thank God, 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' (Romans 8: 1). What a wonderful thing to be a Christian! Work of Satan and the Evil Angels Their work, which is aimed primarily to harm God's plan, may be summarized as follows: 1. God may use them for the purpose of judgment or testing of His People. He does so by permitting them to carry on their wicked programme. God allowed Job to be tested by Satan. 'And 18

the Lord said to Satan, "Behold he is in your power; only spare his life" ' (Job 2: 6). 2. They may bring physical suffering or religious persecution to the Christian to try to separate him from the love of God, but they cannot succeed in the case of a true Christian. ''For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord' (Romans 8: 38, 39). 3. They oppose the good angels of God in their work. That is why Daniel's answer to prayer was delayed (Daniel 10: 12, 13). This may also be true with our prayers today. 4. The evil angels co-operate with Satan in opposing God's work. Satan employs all kinds of devices to accomplish his wicked act of opposing God. He tells lies (John 8: 44), tempts people (Matthew 4: 1), changes into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11: 14) and even inflicts physical death and diseases (Matthew 9: 33; Luke 9: 37-42). 5. The evil spirits have a set of false teachings that they spread. Such false teachings are taught even by some Bible teachers. For example, some of them teach that Satan is not real. Others, on the other hand, bow to Satan and his demons in worship. Some claim that there is no real heaven or 19

real hell. The Bible tells us that these false teachings come from Satan and his demons and will increase before Christ's return. ‘Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons' (1 Timothy 4: 1). There is a revival of spirit worship today. This is not limited to Africa but is found everywhere. Today there are 30,000 practising witches in England. Witches claim to have dealings with the spirits. A recent survey showed there were 10,000 witches in Germany. There is even a church of Satan in the United States of America today. They have Satan's Bible and here is a verse from it: 'Blessed are the strong, for they shall possess the earth. If a man smite you on one cheek, SMASH him on the other.' A Ghanaian football team was passing through Nairobi, Kenya. One of the players dropped an egg as they were coming off the aircraft. A newspaper report of the incident concluded that the team was dealing with witchcraft. Whatever the truth may be in this matter, a great deal of public life in Africa today is connected with the spirits. That is what Satan and his demons want. Through these activities the spirits are drawing even professing Christians to their camp. Co-operating with the evil spirits is enmity against God. 'You cannot drink 20

the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons' (1 Corinthians 10: 21). 6. Demons have no body but they seek for bodies to live in. When Jesus forced them out of a human being, they asked for His permission to enter a herd of pigs. He allowed them and they did (Mark 5: 8-14). Evil Power I saw a Ghanaian witch and his team of dancers who were performing in London. They claimed that the short little man was 124 years old, and that he had power to raise people from the dead. He demonstrated it by slashing one of the lady dancers. After dancing around for a while, he then raised the dead girl to life. I could not tell whether this was a true act of killing and restoring to life or if it was a deceit. Spectacular things do happen. Many of the claims by magicians or witches are, of course, false. Certain people can do some clever things to deceive, especially where rewards are involved. Some of the fantastic stories we hear are big lies. Satan who is the father of all lies, gives the people of the world the encouragement to tell big lies for reward, selfish pride or to impress others. So do not believe everything that you hear. 21

However, since Satan and demons are real, their activities must be taken seriously. Some of the happenings we hear about are true. It is possible for evil spirits to put on the appearance of a dead person and come back to communicate with living people. I have seen snake charmers with poisonous snakes playing with the deadly creatures without being bitten. I have seen actors cut their bodies with a sharp sword and no marks are seen. The same sword would be used then to slash branches from trees. Some of your school mates may convince you that some charms they have used have helped them. Satan can perform miracles. When Moses and Aaron performed miracles before Pharaoh in Egypt, the magicians working under the influence of Satan were able to imitate God's miracles. 'So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord commanded; Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh 22

and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods' (Exodus 7: 10-12). God may allow Satan to do mighty things but there is a boundary beyond which God will not allow him to go. He can go only thus far and not farther. Unusual things may happen, but that does not necessarily make them the acts of God. So what should be the Christian's attitude to these things? Christian Attitude The Christian should believe in the reality of the world of demons, but should seek no contact with them whatsoever. Many athletes pay a large sum of money to the fortune-tellers to know the expected results. I was told by a student in one university that at least half of their students consult witch doctors at the time of their examinations. Some students order rings and other objects from India and elsewhere to help them pass examinations. The Bible condemns any dealings with evil spirits. Evil spirits are behind the activities of witches and diviners. As children of light we should have no dealings with the works of darkness (1 John 1:6). Listen 23

to what God said to Israel: 'Any Israeli who presents his child to be burned to death as a sacrifice to heathen gods, must be killed. No Israeli may practice black magic, or call on the evil spirits for aid, or be a fortune teller, or be a serpent charmer, medium, or wizard, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone doing these things is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord, and it is because the nationsdo these things that the Lord your God will displace them' (Deuteronomy 18: 10-12, Living Bible). It is sin to consult a witchdoctor who in turn consults the spirits to tell the future or to help you in any way. Some Christians want to try out dealing with evil spirits just out of curiosity. It is said, 'curiosity kills the cat.' There is a film made in the U.S.A. called "The Exorcist". It deals with things connected with evil spirits. Some Christians went to see it. Many of them came out sick. One man committed suicide as a result of what he saw in the film. Stay out of Satanic things. The Christian should not take part in idol worship in any way. This includes eating what is sacrificed to idols, dancing to the honour of pagan gods or wearing dress that represents pagan gods. Demons are behind the objects that pagans worship. ' What 24

do 1 imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not God. I do not want you to be partners with demons' (1 Corinthians 10: 19, 20). 'Necromancy' is a term which signifies conversing with the dead for the purpose of consultation or getting information about the future. In African Traditional Religions , it is believed that the dead people are still very much a part of this life. When the Koro people of Nigeria prepare food, they put a portion of the food on the grave for the deceased to eat. In Kenya and elsewhere in Africa there is such a strong veneration of these spirits that it is believed 25

that, though they are dead, yet they live. Professor John Mbiti calls them the living dead’. Some people feel strongly that African Christians should maintain contacts with the spirits of the dead. They say the Catholic churches pray through deceased ‘saints’ . But this is wrong for Christians to do. Listen to what the Bible says: ‘And when they say to you, consult the mediums and the wizards who chirp and mutter, should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of living?’ (Isaiah 8: 19). I know that in 1 Samuel 28:7-25 we have the account of Saul consulting a witch doctor of Endor It is a difficult passage, but let us realize that Saul was a backslider, a miserable and confused person And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him (1 Samuel 28: 6). Since the Lord did not answer Saul, he turned to Satanic sources. The end result was God's judgment by death for Saul and his sons, and defeat for Israel. Let this serve as a warning to those seeking help from demonic forces. In the New Testament we have the example of God’s condemnation of the sorcerer in Cyprus. Paul said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of 26

the Lord?' (Acts 13: 10). To consult with the spirits of the dead is to deal with the demonic world because it is demons who assume the role of the deceased. There was once a bishop, called James Pike. One of his sons committed suicide as a result of drug addiction. Pike was so confused that he gave himself over to the devil completely. Through the help of a wizard he claimed to be having dealings with his deceased son. Each step of drifting away from the Lord led to another. Bishop Pike finally died in the desert in Israel. May this serve as a warning against dealing with the spirits of the dead. The answer to worries is not found in dealing with dead people but in Jesus Christ. Christ invites even the worst criminal to come to Him for rest and peace. 'Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11: 28). Attitude to Satan The Bible gives instructions to the Christian on his attitude to Satan and evil spirits. The Christian must be aware of Satan's devices, otherwise Satan will take advantage of his ignorance. Paul shows how he was aware of Satan's devices, and would like the Christians in Corinth to have the 27

same awareness. To keep Satan from gaining the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his designs' (2 Corinthians 2: 11). The Christian should be alert all the time, realizing that Satan never takes time off from trying to persuade the Christian to do wrong. 'Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour' (1 Peter 5; 8). The Christian must actively resist Satan. 'Resist the devil and he will flee from you' (James 4:7) Although it is God Himself who enables the Christian to escape from temptation, the Christian needs to take an active move to gain victory over sin. The Christian is not a machine, but an intelligent being with the will to do or not to do something. The story of Joseph provides an illustration of what the Christian attitude toward Satanic attack should be. When a pagan woman tried to get Joseph to sin, he not only refused but ran away from the place. 'She caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me". But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and got out of the house' (Genesis 39: 12). It is natural for a young man to talk to a young lady. But you should know that wherever you are, Satan is there to tempt you. The best way to resist him is not to be where you can easily fall into his 28

hands. Do not try to see how far you can go in your bodily contact before you resist the Devil. There is a point of no return in sex relationships. The Christian should not play with Satan's name. The common saying, 'Talk of the devil and he shall appear' is a wise saying indeed. To spend time talking about Satan is to invite him in. Even an angel did not think it wise to spend time talking to Satan. 'But when archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you'" (Jude 9). The Christian should be well armed by depending on the Lord for victory over Satan and his forces. 'Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil' (Ephesians 6: 11). But there is a difference between demonic influence and demon possession. The unbeliever does not have the Holy Spirit of God, and therefore he can be possessed by the demons. The Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6: 19). The Holy Spirit and an evil spirit cannot both dwell in the same body at the same time. The believer may be influenced by an evil spirit, as happened to Paul himself when 'a messenger of Satan' harassed him (2 Corinthians 12: 7). But demons cannot possess the body of the 29

Christian. Even at death they still have no claims on a Christian's body (Jude 9). Thank God, the Holy Spirit of God who is in the Christian is stronger than Satan and his angels who are in the world. 'Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world' (1 John 4: 4). It is wonderful indeed to have Jesus Christ in my life. But it is even more wonderful that Jesus Christ owns me as His child. God also provides angels to protect Christians from physical danger. They, together with the glorified saints, probably constitute the 'cloud of witnesses' who cheer up the Christian in his spiritual race in this life (Hebrews 12: 1). These are comforting facts indeed for the Christian. But he is not commanded anywhere in the Scriptures to worship angels or allow them to come between him and God. Any superstitious worship of angels is against the teaching of God's Word. This leads me to my final point. The written Word of God should be the final test of any action. Even if an educated man, though he is a Christian leader, says something that does not agree with the Bible, do not believe him. Listen to what the Bible says: 'Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many 30

false prophets have gone out into the world By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God’ (1 John 4: 2, 3). Always compare every teaching or practice with Jesus Christ. Some questions you can ask are: Does such practice or teaching recognize that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man? Does it uphold the fact that He was born of a Virgin, died and rose again as the only Saviour of the one who accepts Him? Does it teach that Jesus Christ went up to heaven and that He is now praying for the believers? Does it acknowledge that He is able to take care of all our problems now, whether they have to do with examinations or health? Does it allow for the possibility that Christ may even permit us to fail examinations or be ill and yet He still loves us? Does it recognize that the wicked may even prosper in this life through their dealings with evil spirits but the day is coming when Jesus Christ will put down all principlities and powers, and become Lord of Lords and King of Kings? Only the teaching that answers these questions positively is in line with God's Word. If you are trusting in Jesus Christ alone to be saved from your sins, be assured that you are now a 31

child of God and that you do not need to fear evil spirits or seek any help from them through magic or charms. 'And therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not as hamed for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me' (2 Timothy 1: 12). 32 [Permission to publish this on CD granted by the Africa Christian Press]