I don’t doubt that there are spirits –
angels and demons – among us. I have seen a few spirits. Maybe we all have,
unknowingly:
Be not forgetful to
entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 13:2
In two instances I saw the spirits of
people I had known – one looked like himself and was sitting where he would be
expected to be (if he were still alive), the other I saw come out of her body
in the moment of her death. I have also had some interesting experiences with
stranger ghosts. One of them happened while I was driving on Highway 99 in
Sherwood, a man hit the windshield of my car – I heard the sound and saw his
face on my windshield in front of me. I slammed on the brakes to check out the
situation only to discover there was no man, no blood, and no damage to my car.
But on the side of the road stood a small white cross which, I believe, marks
the death place of the spirit I saw hitting my car.
Growing up, I heard stories about people
who encountered demons. One young man had been lying on his bed listing to
AC/DC – a band that was forbidden due to the belief that it was a devil worship
band – he closed his eyes and when he opened them, he saw demons walking over
his stomach and all over his bedroom. Another young man revealed a similar story
of demons in his bedroom when he had been looking at pornography. I heard many
such stories of people who were heading in the wrong direction actually seeing
demons and being scared back on to the straight and narrow.
But, I believe there are demons among us
that most of us don’t see or sense. Though I once met a woman who said she
could see demons attached to people. The demons had different agendas – some lust,
some greed, some depression, etc. Please don’t read that list to imply that I
think depression is a sin or a sign of demon possession – I’m not asserting that.
I do think it’s possible that some forms of depression may be spiritual.
Several years ago, I read
Frank Peretti’s books This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. These
are novels – fiction – but like the Left Behind series which fleshed out the
way one Bible Scholar/Theologian interpreted the Book of Revelation, Peretti’s
novels are biblically based fiction – story lines and particulars that are
possible – who knows.
Have you read these books? If you are
interested in spiritual warfare, I recommend these two books. I would love to
hear from any who have had experiences with spirits.
Excellent books. And more truth than fiction really. So many Christians ignore this crucial part of faith. "Our war is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil in high places." My paraphrase from Ephesians 6:10 to the end of the chapter. Anyway, I couldn't agree more. Powerful Spirit-led prayer has proven to be a huge resource for combatting the evil I've encountered. Thank God for His power and discernment. I'm just a tool (in so many ways ;) ) but so grateful to be used. They're real, they're evil, but they are subject to the King of Kings even when they don't give up easily.
ReplyDeleteI've had experiences with spirits too. Have you ever seen the show, "The Mentalist"? It's about a guy who isn't a medium, he's just incredibly smart and skilled with the power of observation.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I view demons who masquerade as ghosts in an attempt to deceive us. The objective truth of Scripture states that it's appointed to a man to die once, then the judgement. I think anyone who's seen a "person" who's died, walking around in spirit form is actually viewing a demonic mentalist. The only other option is to believe that Scripture is not true.
Demons are supernatural beings who aren't intellectually or physically limited like humans are. Demons are able to observe us from the womb to the grave, and with that information shape shift into any form they desire.
I had one come to me dressed as Jesus Himself once, declaring things that were contrary to what the Bible teaches. The *entire room* was flooded with feelings of love, compassion, peace, warmth. Physically and with my senses, I couldn't tell it was an evil entity, it was just overwhelmingly pleasant. Except for the part about contradicting Scripture (which should be motivation for us all to know for ourselves what God's Word really says!)
Fortunately, some Christian along the way (an ex practicing witch no less) had shared 1 John 4:1-3 with me as a test for spirits. It says, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that[a] Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world."
I addressed the "Jesus" saying, "Well, if you are Jesus, you won't mind me asking you this question...do you believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh?"
*Instantly* the image disintigrated, and I felt something blow past me with such intense hatred and rage, I was certain that if God wasn't protecting me, I would have been toast.
Yes, I believe demons exist and yes I believe they're able to and do impersonate everything and everyone. They live to lie.
Chris Bodnovits
Btw, I love those books. This was a great blog! - Chris
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Chris. A great example for testing the spirits.
ReplyDeleteAhh, no wonder you enjoyed ghost stories in the graveyard so much :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I can't say I have had experience with spirits, I believe in their existence, and their scheming. I have read "This Present Darkness" by Peretti which was very good. My all time favorite is "Paradise Lost" by Milton. I will most likely be reading and trying to understand it until I am too old for comprehension.
ReplyDeleteWhat is of special interest to me at the present time is the untold stories of the Book of Enoch and the origin and history of the Nephilim. I have written an epic fantasy trilogy from my fascination of the ethereal world, as part on a planned nineteen story mythology covering such topics.