Foreword

Have you ever puzzled or hesitated with what force is influencing you? Have you ever thought that if healings and other special things happen through you, where do your "gifts" come from? It is good to take into account that even if a person sincerely thinks that he is conveying the power of "Christ and the Holy Spirit", this does not guarantee that his gifts are from God. Satan can easily imitate healing, prophesying, speaking in tongues, words of knowledge and other gifts mentioned in the Bible. He can give these imitative gifts to people so that they would be further away from God.

     The Bible's own descriptions provide a model. One example is Simon the Sorcerer mentioned in Acts 8. This person performed miracles with the help of magic and in front of people so that they thought he was acting with the help of God. However, he did not have the power of God's Holy Spirit, but he was lost all the time. Equally well known is the story of Pharaoh's magicians. These magicians practicing magic were able to perform miracles similar to those of Moses.

- (Acts 8:9-13) But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

Furthermore, we need look no further than Jesus' own words in this area. He stated that at the last judgment there would appear many people who would prophesy and do mighty works in his name; people whom Jesus did not know, that is, they were not his own. These verses prove well that even if a person sincerely thinks he is working in God's power, he can still be completely lost:

- (Matt 7:22,23) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.

1. Qualities of the wrong anointing

As mentioned in the foreword, it is possible to be mistaken about which force is acting. It is possible that a person thinks that he is acting in the power of God, even though he is not.

    However, when it comes to occult abilities and anointing from a wrong source, it has certain characteristics by which it can be identified. These features include e.g. the things listed below. If you notice several such traits in your own life, your "gifts" are probably not from God:

• Passivity

• Spirit guides

• Continuous visions of the spirit world

• Repeated out-of-body experiences

• Supernatural information

• Forgetfulness

• Phenomena in the family

• Great exhaustion

• Compulsion

• High-handedness or God's plan?

• A negative effect on one’s spiritual life

Passivity. The first characteristic of false anointing is that it requires passivity and emptying of the mind. To be able to influence a person, the devil and evil spirits need a person's empty mind and passive body. These things, and that a person would be like an automaton, seem to be the most important condition for them to work.

    A good example of passivity is the description of Raphael Gasson. He was a medium, but spirit healers, clairvoyants, or crystal ball spectators may aspire to a similar state. Others of them, as a result of their passivity, may fall into various trance states, some mediums even deep trance states, about which they afterwards remember nothing:

Someone who wants to become a medium must learn to relax his body and concentrate his thoughts in one point, until he will achieve a passive condition, a condition resembling self hypnosis, where he can no longer control his thoughts. The person will become like an automaton who can be used by the evil spirits because of the passiveness. (1)

Another description refers to the same thing. It's about a person who predicted through cards, but she could just as well have used another instrument. A passive, trance-like state was a condition for him to be able to predict better. The well-known Edgar Cayce and Jeane Dixon also strived for a similar state. Cayce was dubbed the "Sleeping Prophet" because of his passive trance state. Similarly, Dixon wrote in his book "The Call to Glory" how he tried to clear his mind in order to foretell effectively:

“Nowadays I foretell from ordinary cards, but it does not matter what tool I use. There just has to be an object on which you focus until you reach a trance. I once foretold from a rug hanging on a wall.

  “It takes about four hours to reach a trance and it drains energy from you as if you were doing some physical work. After that I can foretell all day," she says. (2)

There are several methods that people use to achieve a passive state and a few of them are listed below. Although these methods appear to be very different at first glance, they all finally produce a relaxed, passive condition, where the evil spirits can act. Many of these methods may seem familiar to people, who have worked amongst the New Age movement:

Breathing and concentration exercises are typical in different methods. They are also part of yoga, which in a way is meditation on the whole body, and whose ultimate purpose is to connect a person with the Hindu god Brahman (the word yoga literally means yoking to the same yoke and binding together). 

The various forms of Eastern meditation, where one turns inward and aims to calm and empty the mind, are one of the most common gateways to passivity in people's lives.

    The most well-known method in this area is probably TM, transcendental meditation. It has been promoted in Western countries as a scientific technique and relaxation method, and which is said to have nothing to do with religion and philosophy. It is also said to be a stress-relieving method that brings a sense of peace and increases mental resources.

    However, TM is completely based on Hindu philosophy, although efforts have been made to deny its religious nature. Mantras used in meditation are usually the names of Hindu gods - people are calling their names! - or some other basic concepts of the Hindu religion. Rabi Maharaj, a former Hindu guru who himself practiced much meditation, has stated that "TM is Hinduism in disguise, misleadingly described in scientific terms. Its religious nature is denied and so Western people are led astray." (3)

    Fulfillment of the promises made by TM is, at the very least, questionable. It is true that many may experience a superficial feeling of peace in the beginning, but the later consequences are not good. When people who practiced meditation were studied in the University of Stanford (Leon S. Otis, Adverse Effects of Transcendental Meditation, Update 9 Vol No 1 March 1985), it was found that the longer the meditation continued, the more negative were the consequences. Symptoms such as anguish, confusion, frustration and depression typical of the occult were common consequences. Some even compared their meditation to drug addiction; they did try to stop meditating, but they couldn't because the normal state had become a problem for them. If they didn't get back to meditating soon, they felt so bad that they eventually had to. They had become TM addicts!

Repeated recitation of spells and chanting, which also includes TM mantras, is one method to enter a passive condition. However, Jesus warned us about this kind of futile repetition when He said, "But when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (Matt 6:7).

Continuous drumming is common for many shamans. They may also use drugs or mushrooms that cause hallucinations to achieve a passive state.

Hypnosis is one method that leads to passivity. It is a sleep-like state people try to reach by emptying their mind of thoughts and relaxing their bodies.

  One indication of the harmfulness of hypnosis is that many Christians have found it difficult to pray to God after hypnosis, and have lost their will to read the Bible (Kurt Koch describes some of these events in his book Between Christ and Satan). Hypnosis is not a neutral method; it leads a person to subordinate his will and turn over control to an outside evil influence, as do all methods that aim to achieve a passive mind.

Prolonged looking at the mirror is a method that is used by, for example, clairvoyants. They may also use other objects such as crystal balls or rugs hanging on walls. The object is not important to achieving a passive condition 

Music, especially mystical New Age music, which purports to induce a "therapeutic and deep state of calm", can lead to passivity. This kind of music is not really different from the monotonous drumming practiced by shamans in the middle of the forests, except that it is more beautifully played. The end result in both is the same: a deep relaxed state, which is a prerequisite for entering a trance.

Oriental self- defense methods can lead to passivity if they include Zen-type meditation. This kind of meditation based on emptying one's mind is not present in all methods, and not everyone practices it, but some have included it in their practice.

    As a general rule, it can be considered that if a person is able to do something that would normally harm him, but now does not harm him, he is dealing with demonic forces. Based on some slow-motion playback of films it has been said that bricks have broken under the hand a split second before the hand even touched them. This indicates that these people are already bound and betrayed by the powers of darkness.

Visualization, imagining inner visions and creating mental images is one gateway to passivity. It is often used as part of businessmen's relaxation courses and courses related to mind control (Silva mind control, etc.), but in reality it is an old occult method to get in touch with the spirit world. This method is not sanctified even by the fact that a Christian uses it imagining healing - imagining in his inner mind, for example, little giants attacking sick cells. Instead, healing from God is always received through faith in the word of the Bible, i.e. by considering God trustworthy and not by visualizing. 

Role-playing games (like many modern computer games) are another method of visualization. Almost all of them take place in one’s imagination.

    The problem with these games is that they are a kind of doorway to the spirit world, especially when they contain the basic rudiments of occultism in the form of play, such as reciting spells, cursing, performing magic, and calling upon powers and deities for help. They easily lead one into occultism and visualization. A person can see the game all the time in front of their eyes and no longer distinguish reality from imagination.

    The next quote shows what these games, where violence is common, can lead to at worst, when a person is a full-time slave to them. A former "Dungeons and Drugons" role-playing game player who was sentenced to life for murder tells about it:

The game takes place completely in the player's mind and imagination. (…) If you play it three or five times a week, four or eight hours a time, for example, your conscious mind will get used to the violence. You no longer control your own thoughts. The game becomes true. You start to live the game as if it was reality. Everything you say or do is connected to the game. You no longer play for fun but because you have to. The game has completely taken control of you. It is so dangerous that I cannot even explain it. (4)

Tapes for developing oneself that can be bought from shops and that teach about relaxation, controlling stress, losing weight, learning, building your self-esteem, concentration, controlling your life, etc. can also open a door to passiveness. These tapes are meant for good purposes but they often include sounds that lead the listener to empty his mind. They may also include other methods that encourage passivity, such as turning inward, "drawing on inner resources", meditation, self-hypnosis and visualization. All these methods can lead a person into a passive state of mind, which is one of the basic features of wrong guidance.

Spirit guides. The second sign of wrong anointing, besides passivity, is the presence of guiding spirits in people's lives. If someone has practiced passive meditation for a long time, or worked with the paranormal, it is possible to attract these kinds of ‘companions.’ These guides are thought to have been human residents of our world, but who now live in the spirit world and from there help others in their spiritual growth.

   The following description is an example. It speaks of connection with a spirit guide, but could just as well be replaced by other New Age movement titles such as ascended masters, friend, masters of wisdom, white brotherhood, power animal, inner counselor, higher self, angels, etc. The man in this example – who had gone astray – was freed from the deception:

A young man came to me in the university where I was teaching and told me, “You know what, I am being led in a very miraculous way. There is always someone close to me. Whenever I ask something, I will immediately receive an answer.”

   I immediately became suspicious and started to ask this young man questions. He was clearly dealing with the ‘familiar spirit’, about which the Bible also speaks. This quite simply means that he had formed a close relationship with a spirit from the supernatural world. As it often happens, this spirit presented himself as the Holy Spirit.

   I thought about this and prayed to God that I could distinguish the spirits from one another. After two days, when the young man came to my office again, I bluntly asked him, “Have you ever been dealing with fortune telling or mind reading?”

   A curious expression came to his eyes, like he had seen through me and he said, “How did you guess? Ever since I was a child, my mother has taken me to fortune tellers.”

  (…) As I was speaking, I powerfully felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in the room and the man begun to understand. So I told him, “People use these wrong ways of guidance to find out hidden information, future events, secret wisdom, and supernatural powers. But do you understand that all of this and more can be found with the help of the Holy Spirit? Are you ready to give up this false guidance and follow the truthful and biblical guidance?”

   He nodded and said that he wanted to be freed. We prayed for his release on the basis of the Covenant, which the blood of Jesus Christ has made possible for us. When he left my office, he was a new person. Nowadays, he works for the Lord.” (5)

A person who has a connection with spirit guides, "advisers" or "masters of wisdom" should note that it is one the most obvious signs of a false anointing. These guides, whatever their name is (sometimes they may even appear as Jesus, as the Holy Spirit, or as Gods angels), are in reality just the evil spirits mentioned in the Bible. They may very well appear as resurrected masters, advisers or God’s angels but their purpose is to lead people astray and deceive them. The following verses refer to this:

- (2 Cor 11:14) And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

- (Lev 19:31) Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

- (Lev 20:6) And the soul that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

- (Deut 18:10-12) There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination to the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD your God does drive them out from before you.

- (2 Kings 21:6) And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he worked much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

- (Isa 8:19) And when they shall say to you, Seek to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek to their God? for the living to the dead?

In addition, the following verse from the letter of Paul to the Colossians also slightly refers to this. Paul writes about certain kinds of people who delight in voluntary humility (mental growth?), worshipping of angels (spirit guides?), boasting of what they have seen (continuous seeing into the spirit world is one of the common signs of the wrong anointing) and fleshly pride (being proud of special guidance can be associated with these same matters). These words of Paul describe many people with the wrong anointing, as well as people working in the New Age movement who have similar experiences:

- (Col 2:18) Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

Continuous visions of the spirit world. The thing that has to do with spirit guides is the almost constant seeing of the spirit world. People who have spirit guides in their lives also usually have recurring visions of the spirit world. They can see UFOs, humanoids, human aura, human faces, fairies, elves, goblins, and everything else that doesn't even exist.

    Here, too, it is good to note that repeated and continuous seeing into the spirit world is one of the characteristics of false anointing. It is one of its most common characteristics and usually arises from people opening themselves to the devil through passive meditation or by contacting the spirit world themselves.

    Most of these recurring visions that people see are just illusions that the devil shows them. They are hallucinations that happen inside the mind just like dreams, but don't always exist in reality. The description given by Neil T. Anderson suggests the same thing. In it, a former Mormon woman describes her dead father, but what she sees is only an illusion:

A former Mormon woman prayed the prayer of this step, when she suddenly fell silent stricken by panic. "Tell me what you hear," I prompted her.

  "Don't you see him then?"

  "Who?"

  "My dead father – he is standing right behind you."

  I did not look behind me because the thing that she saw was in her mind and it was not her father.

  "What about your father?" I asked.

  "I am responsible for him," the woman said. Mormons believe that they are responsible for their family members. They even marry and get baptized on behalf of their deceased relatives. When this woman disclaimed the connection with this spirit and her Mormon beliefs, she was freed from the power of the demons. (6)

Repeated out-of-body experiences, in which a person sees himself outside the body and believes he is moving in this state, are one characteristic of false anointing. It is common for individuals who have parapsychic abilities to also have mystical out-of-body experiences, but these usually disappear when they find salvation.

  These experiences are caused because these people – perhaps by meditation, using drugs or by similar means – have made their minds passive. These kinds of experiences do not come by accident; they require a passive mind, which seems to be vital for activity by evil spirits. Evil spirits need a person's passive state in order to give their false experiences.

  Rabi Maharaj, a former Hindu guru, is one example. He believed that he had been “in the secret universe of the unknown planets with the Glorified Masters" as a consequence of meditation, but said later about his journeys, "it was a lie, a trick of evil spirits which enabled them to get the upper hand of me when I released my mind from my control." (p. 161. Gurun kuolema [Death of a Guru]). He also stated (p. 162) that both meditation and drugs can cause changes in consciousness because evil spirits can work through these methods:

I learned that drugs caused changes in consciousness that were similar to those caused by meditation. They made it possible for demons to manipulate neurons in the brain and create all kinds of apparently real experiences, which actually were deceitful delusions. The same evil spirits that had led me to ever deeper meditation in order to get the upper hand of me, were obviously also behind the drug movement for the same satanic reason.

We must understand that most (not necessarily all) out-of-body experiences are probably just experiences in the mind, like dreams. This similarity is evident from the fact that neither is usually well remembered. For example, in her book Out On a Limb, Shirley MacLaine's friend David states about his own out-of-body experiences, "Unfortunately, it often happens that when you return back to your body and wake up, you don't remember where you have been - quite like having a dream." In both cases you also see yourself moving elsewhere, even though your body never leaves the bed.

  One good example can be found in the following description, which discusses the connection between Carl's astral travels and the "Turtle". This person's astral journeys were not real either, but were organized by the "Turtle". Carl, who was a professor of parapsychology, had fallen into this state while practicing his paranormal experiments for a long time:

When the spirit was asked whether it had arranged Carl's astral journeys (OOBE), the spirit used Carl's mouth to answer: "Yes." (Cf. Mark 5:7 s).

  When asked how it happened, the spirit replied: "When we get our hands on the soul life of a person, we can make anyone hear, touch, taste, know, and want the impossible. He was ours. He is ours. He belongs to our kingdom."

  The spirit was asked whether Carl saw the so-called ‘aura’ (which is spoken of by the theosophists and also MacLaine), and the spirit replied yes. Had ‘the Tortoise’ shown Carl his aura? The answer was affirmative. When the spirit was asked whether Carl knew who the ‘Tortoise’ was, it assured that he knew.

  The spirit was asked again whether Carl had been out of his body during his astral journeys, in the places he had mentioned. The answer was no. "What happened then?" "We gave him information concerning different places as if he had really been there."

  The questioning continued and it was very revealing. The respondent was a demon who was a liar just like his master. However, in this situation the demon was "out on a limb," i.e., in an awkward position. It was being driven out of Carl and it did not want to go. It exposed Satan's secrets in order to stay. It was scared to death of going to the abyss. (cmp. Mark 1:24, luke 8:31) (…)

  Driving ‘the Tortoise’ out from Carl was like an electric shock to him. It changed him in a second. Jesus Christ moved in to live in him and the real identity of ‘the Tortoise’ became crystal-clear to him.

  The professor wrote an apology to his students whom he had misled, and confessed that he had knowingly and voluntarily let an evil spirit take over him. Even though the spirit had come to Carl in disguise, pretending that it had come to save him, to perfect him, to help him help others, he had known all along that it was an evil spirit. "I never enjoyed the out-of-body experiences, they were only delusions." Carl confessed that all his psychic gifts had come from the same source. (7)

Supernatural information can be a property of the wrong anointing. It can appear as imitated words of knowledge and foretelling, which can resemble prophesying. The same area can include such forms of divination as reading cards, palm reading, crystal gazing, and psychometry, which is obtaining information about people based on dead objects.

  We will not examine these forms of foretelling further. It will suffice to say that there is no guarantee that supernatural information always comes from God, because evil spirits can influence us. (However, such spirits are not omniscient as God is. They get their information from the future principally in two ways: either by knowing the intentions of people or by what they themselves intend to put into effect through people.) So it is very possible that if this kind of supernatural information appears in the life of a person, he is probably connected with the evil spirits. The following description in the Acts illustrates this same point: a young woman was directly under the power of a spirit and made money for her master through soothsaying. This woman was freed, however, when Paul commanded the spirit to leave. Her foretelling immediately ceased:

- (Acts 16:16-19) And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show to us the way of salvation.

18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.  And he came out the same hour.

19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace to the rulers,

- (Lev 19:26,31) You shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall you use enchantment, nor observe times.

31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.

- (Lev 20:6) And the soul that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

Forgetfulness. One characteristic of the wrong anointing is forgetfulness. People who are under the wrong anointing often experience lapses in consciousness and memory in their lives. Some episodes of their lives are as if erased. They can also lose sense of time: one moment can seem like an hour and a longer period like one moment. Likewise, they may not know at all what they have done and said under the "anointing".

    Forgetting is especially common with deep trance mediums who, while in trance, do not understand what they are talking about at all. They may afterwards wonder about the information that others have told about their speeches.

    Forgetting is also common in the field of UFO experiences. Even then, the contact persons do not usually remember anything about their experiences afterwards, but forget them like a dream. They may therefore use hypnosis to recall their experiences (cf. studying reincarnation through hypnosis). As an example of forgetfulness, there was an article in Apu magazine (36 / 1991, p. 66) in which Rauni-Leena Luukanen was interviewed, a person who has written a couple of books about UFOs. He tells how it was difficult for him to remember anything about his UFO experiences afterwards:

Nowadays Rauni-Leena Luukanen is flying with UFOs on a weekly basis, but she cannot remember anything about the events without hypnosis.

  This forgetting is called a cover memory. Rauni-Leena remembered under hypnosis how a humanoid forbade her to remember anything about the events on the vessel. They do this to protect people because the events may feel frightening in broad daylight. (…)

  If Rauni-Leena wakes up very tired in the morning, she knows that she has been examined in the night. They have taken specimens of her ovule, skin, muscles, and her nose. She has noticed marks of taking of the samples on her skin and the marks of straps that had been tied around her chest and pelvis. (…)

 - But in the morning I did not remember anything, Rauni-Leena regrets.

Phenomena in the family. One aspect of false anointing and abilities is that abilities can be inherited in a family just like a normal earthly inheritance. (Gifts from God are never inherited.) We commonly find that people who claim to have paranormal gifts may have family members – father, mother, grandmother, etc. -- with similar gifts. They may have practiced clairvoyance, foretelling, conjuring, spirit healing, using a magic wand, or other paranormal activities, and passed them on to their descendants. Does this sound familiar to you?

“This is nothing new. I have had these experiences ever since I was a child. It seems that I inherited these abilities from my mother and father or from my grandparents.”

Great exhaustion. One of the characteristics associated with false anointing is exhaustion and great weakness that individuals with false anointing may experience after after they have stopped their spiritual activities. They may experience great weakness, boredom, headaches, and other symptoms. Symptoms are usually greater the more they have been functioning or the deeper and longer their trance state has been. Jessie Penn-Lewis, who was involved in the Welsh revival, has referred to this in her book War on the Saints:

Evil spirits grant supernatural power (usually convulsive and unreliable) that requires passivity of the human spirit, soul, and body. When this "power" ceases, it leaves a person dull and exhausted.

The example in Kurt Koch's book suggests the same. There is a question about the action of the former medium and how she experienced exhaustion after the sessions, but similar exhaustion can occur in many spirit healers after they have stopped their healing sessions (although their "abilities" may quickly develop in this area):
 

  …But there is another side to the story. After every session, my mother was completely exhausted. In the course of time she began to suffer also from depression and fits of rage during which she screamed and shouted. Sometimes foam came out from her mouth. Once, during a fit, she attacked me with a knife in her hand and if it wasn't for the training I received in the army, I would have been badly hurt. Her memory also suffered and she became mentally unstable. In my own life, participation in spiritualism showed as the lust to smoke and drink, and the quick-tempered side of my nature often came out. (8)

One question mark in this area is the activities of William Branham. He had a Christian message, but there were strange features in his actions. He had some clearly extra-biblical doctrines, although there was also absolutely correct teaching. One alarming feature of his activity was that he was so dependent on an angel for his prayer activities that he was completely helpless without the angel's presence. This is told in his biography (Gordon Lindsay and William Branham: A Man Sent from God).

     Another equally alarming fact is that Branham experienced great exhaustion immediately after the anointing left him. This is also told in his biography. He experienced the same as the medium in the previous example and the other mediums when the anointing leaves them.

   The late Derek Prince, who participated in Branham's meetings, was later critical of Branham's actions. He thought that a demonic power was working through Branham. He did not believe it was the Holy Spirit:

Unfortunately, after he used his gift two or three times, he just collapsed, and his helpers came and picked him up and carried him away. He explained everything with the words of Jesus: I know that power has gone out from me." But Jesus did not collaps. I don't think this was the Holy Spirit. I believe this was demonic. (9)

Compulsion. We talked above about how evil spirits want to make a person like a passive automaton through which they can act (automatic writing, mediums, etc.). Supernatural compulsion is also related to the same area, which is one of the characteristics of false anointing. Compulsion can manifest itself in at least the following ways. If a person notices these traits in his own life, he can be freed from them if he first surrenders his life to Jesus and resists the devil in the name of Jesus Christ.

Inability to control. The first feature to mention is that a person under the wrong anointing is often unable to control the "gifts" they use or the things they say and do. If he has an imitated speaking in tongues or the gift of false prophecy, it is as if some force is driving and compelling him to use them. The difference is that God never forces and drives a person, but calls him. Also, if we have the God-given gifts of prophecy and tongues, we can control these gifts and speak only in situations that are appropriate. Paul taught us about this:

- (1 Cor 14:27-33) If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.

28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

30 If any thing be revealed to another that sits by, let the first hold his peace.

31 For you may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.

32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Symptoms if one does not obey. An example of compulsion can be seen in the fact that mediums, spirit healers and others who are usually already deep in deception often become ill immediately after trying to stop their activity. When they seek to break away from these things, they may catch mysterious illnesses and diseases that force them to start again.

   There would certainly be several examples (Shirley MacLaine in her book "Matka sisimpään" tells about three such people, namely Orbito, Gasparetto and Mauricio, who experienced exactly this way. They could not stop their activities because they would have immediately become ill themselves.), but perhaps the following quote shows where being under false anointing can lead a person:

The claim, that shamanism is not hazardous to a healthy man, was, of course, the main goal of the entire report, but those direct contacts that I had with the full-time shamans in Japan told an entirely different story. Sooner or later, the spirits will take the shaman into such a firm hold that they will become their slaves and will be forced to suffer very deep pain. Finally, the shaman can break down mentally, but still be able to show surprising demonstrations of his abilities. Shamanism is, in the course of time, as enslaving a power as drug addiction that is often connected to it. (10)

Obsessions and inner voices and commands can also be involved.  The people living under false anointing often come across thoughts, voices, and commands that are completely foreign to them. They may hear a dialogue in their head – voices and thoughts that they do not recognize as their own. Some may even feel that there are two different persons inside them. They may even end up hurting themselves or the person closest to them by following the voice's command – things that they would never do in a normal state. (In jurisprudence, an act performed under this state is called an act done non compos mentis, ‘of unsound mind’.)

  The man from the region of Gerasenes, mentioned in the Bible, who tried to hurt himself and who was directly under the power of unclean spirits can be regarded as an extreme example. (This certainly does not mean that all who have obsessions are in the same condition. The devil, who is an accuser, a tempter, a murderer and a liar [Rev 12:10, Matt 4:3, John 8:44], can influence a person from outside himself. Perhaps most cases are just like this.) However, he was freed and gained full understanding after meeting Jesus: 

- (Mark 5:1-15) And they came over to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the most high God? I adjure you by God, that you torment me not.

8 For he said to him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.

9 And he asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

10 And he sought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

11 Now there was there near to the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

12 And all the devils sought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

13 And immediately Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.

15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

High-handedness or God's plan? One indication that the anointing is not from God is if a person can decide for himself when the anointing works or a miracle happens. If a person can control ‘power’ or ‘energy’, then it always is coming from evil spirits. They can easily be in cooperation with a person, but the purpose of everything is only to draw a person deeper into deception and ultimately into eternal damnation.

    As a difference to God's action, we can mention that God always wants us to be dependent on Him, His grace and guidance. He does not want us to be self-willed heroes of faith, but that we ourselves find out about His plan, what He does and wants to do in each situation. This was the operating principle of Jesus on earth and it should be the operating principle of every human being, because human stubbornness leads only to the realm of magic. (Jesus' temptations in the wilderness were about the same thing: He was tempted to do miracles that were not the Father's plan for Him. He was tempted to turn stones into bread, which He refused: Matt 4:3: The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.”) In the Gospel of John, Jesus' own words about this matter are:

- (John 5:19) Then answered Jesus and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what things so ever he does, these also does the Son likewise.

A negative effect on one’s spiritual life. If a person has acted under the wrong anointing or he has received, for example, the gift of speaking in tongues from the wrong source, these things always have an effect on the life of faith as well. (Sometimes even a truly saved person can become part of an imitation gift if he allows a spirit healer or a person with the wrong anointing to lay hands on him. Another possibility is that he himself has made his mind passive and repeated some word thousands of times. These activities can result in a person’s receiving a ‘gift’ that is not from God.). At least they do not strengthen faith, but weaken it.

 The most common symptoms may include the following:

• If a person is under the wrong anointing, it always prevents normal, genuine, prayer, where a person turns to God in heaven through Jesus Christ. It can appear especially when a person sincerely turns to God and wants to repent; he might even lose consciousness. However, people who speak in counterfeit tongues given by the enemy can pray with this tongue but not in a normal state.

• Reading and understanding the Bible may be impossible. The person may feel like nothing sticks in his mind, as if someone is snatching his thoughts.

• When a person is under the power of a false anointing, he can drift into a sinful life. He may drift into sinful living and consider fornication, homosexuality, or any other sin to be acceptable, or even think that guidance to do such things is coming from God. The person does not consider the fact that God never leads us to sin or to do anything that is against His holy word.

  When God leads us, He always wants to release us from sin, not drive us into it. If something is pushing us toward such activity, then the spiritual force behind it cannot be coming from God.

• In soul care situations, a person may experience threats, accusations or statements in their mind: "This is not working, get out of here, you will never be free!" Internal resistance in these situations is strong. Likewise, the enemy may try to plant blasphemous thoughts in one’s mind, or try to encourage wrongful actions.

• The impact on one’s life of faith can be manifested especially in the situation when a person wants to turn to God and Jesus Christ for the first time. Often a person burdened by occultism and false anointing can be quite at peace in the world, but as soon as he wants to turn to God, difficulties begin - difficulties caused by the devil's unwillingness to let go of a person he already considered a sure case.

    The incident told by Kurt Koch points to the same thing that is so common to people burdened by the occult. It's about a man who was taken to a sorcerer when he was young, but who wanted to turn to God as an adult. (It's good to note that in addition to visiting a spirit healer, the bond with the occult may also have arisen from occultism in family or through one's own activities.) The troubles in his life, too began only after his conversion, but he was finally freed from them completely:

(…) The word of God spoke to the man, and he wanted to follow Christ. After he had made this decision, he started to suffer from deep distress, depression, and suicidal thoughts. This distressed man told me in pastoral care that his life had progressed normally after being healed. Only when he had started to pray and read the Bible had all hell gotten loose. The depression was so powerful that he had made three suicide attempts. A doctor had saved his life. When the doctor had seen the poison he had with him, he had said, "This amount of poison would have been enough to kill ten people.” (...) The fight lasted for a couple of months. Christ won in the end. The man was completely freed from the results of the spellcaster’s treatment. Where sin had been great, the grace of God had been even greater. (11)

2. What about trance preachers?

Earlier we considered some things that are included in false anointing. We noted that things like passivity, spirit guides, almost continuous seeing into the spirit world, forgetfulness, compulsions, and many other activities are associated with false anointing.

  False anointing is not restricted only to mediums, spirit healers, or similar persons whose message usually deviates completely from the true Christian message. This false anointing can also be found in trance preachers. They can speak even about salvation, repentance, conversion to God, and other things that completely agree with the Bible’s teachings. These persons seem to be under a similar, false anointing, because their activities are very similar to those of mediums.

  In the following, we will look at the activities of trance preachers and how it resembles the activity of mediums. Most examples are related to Helena Konttinen, a trance preacher, who was influential at the beginning of the last century.

A foreign spirit, passivity and supernatural information. The first observation that can be made is that when trance preachers fall into a passive state and a foreign spirit takes possession of them and speaks through them, this is similar to what happens to mediums. Both are characterized by a similar passive state, during which they themselves are ignorant of almost everything. They may have even had to ask others what they have just said!

    When mediums and trance preachers have supernatural information in their activities, it is also one common feature. It is a common feature of both these groups that they can report things to others that only the individuals themselves may know about. We see these features in the activities of Helena Konttinen, for example.

     It is good to note that this supernatural information comes only from the seer’s spirits and familiar spirits as we find mentioned in the Bible. If there is information of this kind in the activities of these persons, it comes from these false spirits. They can give people similar "gifts" to what is mentioned in the Bible, i.e. gifts corresponding to the word of knowledge and the gift of prophecy. The purpose of these spirits is, however, to drive man further away from God and into damnation.

- (Isa 8:19) And when they shall say to you, Seek to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek to their God? for the living to the dead?

Forgetfulness and numbness are two common traits of both mediums and trance preachers. Both can be in a state that they don't remember anything about and during which they also don't feel anything. For example, Helena Konttinen describes her trance state in the following way. In it, she talks about his numbness, so that she didn't feel needle pricks. A similar numbness was also characteristic of the famous "sleeping prophet", Edgar Cayce, who did not feel needle pricks while in a trance state:

Going into that trance takes place so surprisingly that even my conversation with my friend can be cut off. If I am sitting down at the time, I will fall back to the direction to which I happen to be leaning. I remember only a few times when I fell down when I was standing, and I did not hurt myself. People around me naturally lift me on a bed or sofa. There are no convulsions. My body does not stiffen; it is usually limp. My feet get cold when the trance lasts for a long time. People have tried to wake me up by stinging me with needles but I know nothing until I wake up. During the first three years, my eyes were open without blinking even though the trance might take as long as five hours. (12)

Seeing into the spirit world. Another similarity is constant hallucinations and seeing into the spirit world. Many trance preachers can regularly see these visions during their sermons or at other times. Many of them are also like in heaven during the whole sermon, or they can see a book during their sermon, from which they read to the listeners. For example, it was typical of Helena Konttinen's trance that during it she saw two "angels of blessing" or a spirit that appeared as the Savior. However, it is significant that at some point she also suspected that her preaching was from the enemy. She herself tells about her doubt and how she also saw visions during her speech. Unfortunately, she suppressed these suspicions when she received new visions:

What if the enemy is doing his work in me, and poses as an angel of light? Finally I thought that I was the enemy's weapon, because he came to me in a visible form more than once, and I did not see the Savior in the trance, except when under greater distress.

   (…) On the following days, there were three explanation speeches and I saw the Savior, but his hands and sides were not visible. And again I became suspicious: what if the enemy is affecting this preaching, because he can also transform himself into an angel of light. (13)

Non-biblical teaching. Although many trance preachers quote the Bible, it is significant that their teachings include non-biblical material and unfulfilled predictions. The spirits also usually dictate to them what topics they can and cannot talk about in their normal state.

  We will not discuss this issue here in any more detail, but the book "Totuus unissasaarnaajista" by Armas von Bell, for example, discusses the teachings and unfulfilled predictions of Helena Konttinen in more detail.

Supernatural compulsion. When it was stated above how compulsion is one of the main characteristics of false anointing and guidance, the same characteristic can be noticed in the lives of trance preachers as well. It can be noticed that they have had to live under the same compulsion as many mediums or spirit healers who have been dealing with these things for a longer time.

    So they have been forced to speak against their will in trance or do other things against their will. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that if they have tried to give up their activity or have been disobedient, it has often resulted in punishments or illnesses, as in the lives of mediums. The following descriptions by Helena Konttinen explain the matter well. If a person notices similar things occurring in his own life, he may be certain that it does not come from the Holy Spirit:

It was further informed that the freedom from trance speeches would be given at the end of my life and I could be free from it in my home, but the gift of explaining would not be taken away; I would have to act with it until I was very old (…)

  "If a servant was taken into the house, he would indeed love his master but would not do his work, the master would force him do it..."

(…) Such harsh punishments came because in spite of the many warnings I had offended. In the beginning when I was placed into a trance, it had been said that if I would not willingly go into the Lord’s service, I would be forced to do it by means of punishment. (14)

The testimony of a former trance preacher. The fact that there is a really evil power behind the trance preachers is evident from the testimony of a former trance preacher. In it, this former trance or sleep preacher tells how she came under the power of the spirit, but also how she was freed from the spirit. In the following, it is also worth paying attention to the fact that this woman herself was not in the faith, although she even prayed for others. Moreover, it is noteworthy that as soon as she turned to God, difficulties began for her, which is so common for people burdened by the occult.

    Italics have been added to the text below to make it easier to see some of the typical features of false anointing. The description is from Armas von Bell’s book Totuus unissasaarnaajista, a story told by a former trance preacher:

I was awakened in 1929. I was walking in order to hear all the speakers. I did not read the word of God myself as of yet, I only listened to those who spoke. (…) Then came the year 1930. I once went to the town of Kotka. My friend said that there would be a trance preacher, and I went with her.

  The meeting started with the preacher stating the names of the hymns, two of them. My friend said that the speaker had two sermons, the walking sermon as the second, and so it was. She preached the first sermon while lying down, but when the second sermon started, she jumped up, went to the back bench and asked everyone, “What did you come to get?” Then she came and put her hands on me, and that spirit came to me. I fell on my knees, and the preacher said that I should preach the message of the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 40, to the nation. I cried and my power was gone, so that the people had to help me up.

  The speaker’s pupils were not visible, only the whites. She was being led by the spirit.

  There was another meeting in Kotka the next week. There, I went into a trance and I did not know what I preached. It continued for six months every evening at 7 pm. I myself did not know anything about it and I did not remember anything I had spoken, but there was a spirit in me that knew beforehand all that was going to take place.

  People were very amazed and happy that now they had amongst them a seer and they always gathered to hear my sermons until the room was full. I preached and prayed for people, and I informed hidden issues: once I informed them of a large amount of moonshine hidden. (…) Once, I hit a drunkard's bottle into pieces and prayed for him. People wondered how I dared, since he was such an awful man. Once, when a group of boys had come to our house, I grabbed one of them by the shoulders and forced him on his knees and ordered him to pray for salvation. I myself was often on my knees before people praying for them. (…)

  (…) Then a talker from a youth association, Olga Kohvakka, came to this town, and we had a sewing circle. She came there; I had again preached a long sermon and prophesied her journey. She came to our place and asked me whether I was in faith. I said, “I am not.” She said that when she was 16 years old, she was like I was now and that she prayed for salvation and to be healed and she got rid of the spirit.

  When I knew what spirit was in me, I started to read the Bible and pray that the spirit would leave me. Of course, this did not please the spirit and then it showed its true color; that it was an evil spirit. It had me do many crazy things. When I was reading the Bible, it said, “Throw the Bible into the corner!” And I did it, but when it commanded me to burn the Bible, I received strength to resist and I did not do it. I even had to be dumb for two days when the spirit within me became dumb. When people came to talk to me, I wrote down on paper that I could not talk.

  When I had been freed from this spirit, I called a doctor and when I told him that I had gotten rid of the spirit by reading the Bible and praying, he said it to be cheap medicine. After that time, doctor Sederholm has often asked about the state of my faith. Thank God I have been able to answer that it is constantly becoming stronger and stronger.

   Yes, I believe that each trance preacher can be freed if he or she wants to be freed. I do not believe that any of those trance preachers whom I have met is a believer.

   (…) After I received the Holy Spirit, it has not even tried anymore. The trance preaching spirit is not anything other than an evil spirit that controls a person. It is also said in the Bible: "Who has a dream, let him speak of it; who has the Word of God, let him speak of it."

  There would be much to write, about everything the spirit made me do in my life. Nobody should, in the state of awakening, follow everybody. You are stronger once you are reborn. No evil spirits will easily grab hold of that. (15)

3. Where have the gifts come from?

There are generally three ways in which a person gets “gifts” that come from the enemy. These false “gifts” may appear like speaking in tongues, for example.  We will look at these below.

1. Man himself practises. The first way is that the person has practiced occultism, studied magic, and continuously worked to develop skills. Meditation and passive submission to a foreign spirit are the most common ways for people to get false gifts:

False gifts that come through meditation. Practicing meditation can include focusing the mind on nothingness, breathing in a rhythm, and similar activities are common ways to open oneself to false anointing. Most mediums have become mediums just by practicing some form of Oriental meditation for a long time – perhaps for some years – until they have finally become channels for untruthful spirits:

Almost every one of channels and mediums whom I have examined had their initial connection with the guiding spirit when they practiced some form of Oriental meditation. The shamans also use some spell or mantra in order to get into a trance, whereby they get connected to the spirit world. (Kenneth R. Wade, Uuden aikakauden salaisuudet: New age, p. 137)

Another example is Rudolf Steiner, regarded the creator of anthroposophy and Steiner pedagogy. He received a kind of clairvoyance (and created his wrong teachings) through the practice of yoga, which he had studied for several years. He even believed that if someone practiced passive meditation for a half an hour every day for seven years, the person would receive a similar ability. 

Passive submission to a foreign spirit. Another way to attract a false anointment is passive submission to foreign spirits. Often, the worst cases faced by Christians rise from this sort of activity. Doreen Irvine describes this kind of activity. She was a queen of black witches, a former prostitute, and striptease dancer, but she was finally freed from the demonic chains – after a seven-month fight. She wrote in Olin noita (From Witchcraft to Christ), p. 152-153:

Suddenly, I became aware of the evil spirits who lived in me. They really owned my body. The evil spirit spoke to me again, but only to me.

   "Do not tell him anything.”

   The evil spirits were not unfamiliar to me. How often had I called them to help me when I was a witch and a worshipper of Satan! For the first time I understood that these evil spirits were in me, and not outside of me. It was an astonishing discovery.

2. Inheritance. It is possible for false gifts to be passed on to us as an inheritance. (The gifts of God are never passed from one generation to the next.) Ordinarily we find that one or both the parents or grandparents practiced dark arts, or let themselves be healed by magic, or visited a person who used a divining rod, or acted as a medium. The enemy’s influence may have passed from them to their children and grandchildren. They may inherit these abilities, of which they become aware often under surprising circumstances.

  Kurt Koch described this kind of activity in Onko paholainen olemassa (Between Christ and Satan), p. 33. He wrote that these abilities do not necessarily disappear even in conversion, and that some people may confuse them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That is why special prayer may be needed to be freed from these capabilities:

As we examine the history of families, we can see that in many cases the ability to use a divining rod or a pendulum – also mesmerism, clairvoyance, and dreams that come true – appear in people whose ancestors have been active spiritualists or have even practiced magic. These exceptional abilities are not gifts of the Holy Spirit and neither are they neutral or natural gifts, but mediumistic abilities. Many people have these abilities and they do not even know it. Sometimes they are noticed by accident. Every now and then a person who possesses mediumistic abilities becomes a Christian. Then, as a Christian, he or she can suddenly notice the rare abilities and imagine that he or she has received a gift of the Spirit. This is, of course, a misconception. Sometimes we can see that these mediumistic abilities disappear when people become converted, but very often they are carried into the new life. But if a Christian sincerely prays for freedom from these abilities, God will answer the prayers. They are a real burden for many Christians. Markus Hauser said that clairvoyance was rather a plague than a gift to him. Mediumistic abilities should never be confused with gifts of the Spirit. Even conversion does not sanctify them. The Holy Spirit never uses or sanctifies skills that the ancestors have received in service to Satan.

3. Transfer. One can also become burdened with occultism through transfer, which is actually the demonic equivalent of laying on of hands, which is mentioned in the Bible. Here are some examples:

Ordinary close contact. A person can receive a transfer of false gifts after coming into close contact with a spirit healer, or a diviner, or with a medium. This kind of transfer is very common. 

Sexual intercourse places one into extremely close contact, as does visiting a spirit healer. Intercourse can attract demonic pollution because these spirits can be transferred from one person to the other. If someone has had these kinds of physical relationships in their past, he can cancel their effect by confessing his sins to God and claiming freedom through the name and blood of Jesus.

- (1 Cor 6:16-18) What? know you not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body?  for two, said he, shall be one flesh.

17 But he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.

Unreliable people. Sometimes saved people can drift into the bondage of an occult burden or may have received the ‘gift’ of prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing, words of knowledge, or other similar gifts when they have let some unknown and unreliable person put their hands on them. (Rebecca Brow and Kurt Koch provide examples in their books.) This kind of a transfer is possible even in churches, because all people who visit churches are not servants of God; they may be bound themselves. Everyone should, therefore, obey the verses in James Chapter 5, where it is written that only the elders of the church or other reliable persons should anoint people and pray for them.

   The second possible mistake is that we are too eager to place our hands on people. If they are not ready to give up their sins and repent, or are possessed by demons, this can happen. However, Jesus taught, "they will drive out demons" and not that they put their hands on them. 

   The following warning given by Yonggi Cho addresses the same subject. He wrote that many people who pursued the baptism of the Holy Spirit may have been forced under this yoke just because they subjected themselves to the wrong person. The consequence is usually that they have encountered unnecessary suffering and shipwrecked their lives:

People who pray earnestly and eagerly for receiving the Holy Spirit should not allow anyone to place their hands on them while they pray. An evil spirit is very contagious, as are diseases that spread like epidemics. I have seen how filthy spirits have been transferred into people when someone who is possessed by evil spirits has placed their hands on them. When such a spirit gets into them, they suffer terribly until they are freed from it. If someone wants hands to be placed on him in prayer, he should always be sure that the people who do this are full of the Spirit of Truth. (16)

TESTING THE SPIRITS

- (1 John 4:1-3) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Hereby know you the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

In the Bible passage above, John advises us to test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because all spirits are not from Him. If you are uncertain about which power you are in connection with, or an angel or spirit continuously appears to you (even a spirit who appears as Jesus or as the Holy Spirit), or if you doubt the source of your own gifts, then test these spirits.

   God’s angels and the Holy Spirit will always glorify Jesus Christ in the flesh and proclaim Him as Lord.

   Ask: "Is Jesus Christ (the Messiah), who came in the flesh, who is God Almighty, who died on the cross and rose from the tomb on the third day and now sits on the right side of the Father God, is this Jesus Christ their Lord?”. If they are evil, they will deny it, fall silent, or give a vague and deceitful answer.

   Neil T. Anderson wrote about the enemy’s ability to easily imitate normal gifts of God. He described a person who received through false teachers the enemy’s gifts of speaking in tongues and prophecy. However, he was freed from these imitated gifts:

Recently a man in his thirties was directed to me. Alvin was depressed and felt defeated. He had thought for several years that he had received a special gift of prophecy from God. He was called many times to the churches to speak like an oracle of God; he prophesied in his own unique way. But over the course of a few months, his life started to break down. Alvin finally came to a point where he could not act in the society anymore and he started to completely draw back from the company of others. When he came to see me, he had been unemployed for two years. His father took care of him and he was the slave of prescription drugs.

   I read 1 Thess 5:19-21 with Alvin: “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” I said, “Alvin, I don't resist prophesying; it is a gift. But Satan may imitate these gifts and mislead us to believe that they are from God. That is why the Bible says: test everything.”

   During our conversation Alvin admitted, “I feel that my problems began when I didn't test the gifts of tongues and prophecy which I had received through wrong teachers. I was deceived, but I have also deceived other people.”

   “Would you now like to test your gift of speaking in tongues,” I asked. I assured Alvin that I wanted to test the spirit, not him.

   Alvin really wanted to be freed from the deceit and amend his relationship with God. “I would,” he replied.

   I told Alvin that he must pray aloud 'speaking in tongues'. When Alvin started to repeat an incomprehensible prayer, I said, “In the name of Christ and obedient to the word of God, I command you, spirit, to tell who you are.”

   Alvin stopped in the middle of his rhythmic repeats and said, “I am Him.”

   At this stage, a novice would have had the temptation to take off his shoes and imagine that he stood on Holy Land. But I continued testing the spirit, “Are you Him who was crucified during Pontius Pilate, buried, rose from the dead on the third day, and who now sits on the right side of the Father?”

   Alvin almost shouted his reply, “I am not! I am not Him!” I advised Alvin in prayer to forbid the activity of Satan in his life, and so Alvin was freed from that deceit. (17)

4. Becoming free

When it comes to occultism, spiritualism, or false anointing in general, it is an enslaving yoke. Their practice always leads to formation of demonic bonds and causes a degree of restlessness such as man has never experienced before beginning such practices. Furthermore, the most serious aspect of practicing occultism is that it closes the doors to the kingdom of heaven. We can see from the Bible how sorcerers, witches, murderers and practitioners of other sins will not inherit the kingdom of God:

- (Gal 5:19-21) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, jealousies, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Contentions, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

- (Rev 21:7,8) He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

- (Rev 22:14,15) Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and makes a lie.

However, if you yourself have drifted into false anointing, are involved in occult matters or spiritualism, you should not stay in that state, but you can free yourself from these things.

    In the following lines, we will see what steps you and everyone must take to free yourself from wrong ties. It includes e.g. the following issues, which we are going to investigate:

• Freedom in Jesus Christ

• Handing over your life to God.

• Renunciation prayer, or breaking away from the enemy

• Confession of sins

• Resisting the enemy

• After-fight

• Reading the word

• Objects

• Curses

• Inheritance

FREEDOM IN JESUS CHRIST. The first thing to pay attention to is that you have already turned to Jesus Christ and received Him into your life, so that you may experience salvation. Unfortunately, there are many in the churches who think they are saved but really are not. They may have grown up in Christian homes, attended meetings regularly, even witnessed, but they lack the life within and have not been born again.

    That is why it is extremely important for you, too, to rest assured that you have received Jesus Christ and salvation and that this is not something you’re just imagining. Jesus Christ is only waiting to step into your life so that you may become a child of God:

- (Rev 3:20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

- (John 1:12) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name

Another thing to note is that only in Jesus Christ can a person experience freedom from spirit guides, lying voices, false anointing and all the powers of darkness. Although many things, such as medicine and psychiatry, can help a person, and their help should not be underestimated in any way, they cannot help free us from the bonds of dark powers. Instead, only Jesus' victory over the powers of darkness is the basis of the entire liberation. A person must turn to Him to experience liberation. The following verses refer to this area, Jesus' victory over the powers of darkness, and also how some people have been helped. The same verses show how through Jesus we can get peace in our inner life:

- (1 John 3:8) ... For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

- (Hebr 2:14,15) For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

- (Col 2:15) And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

- (Luke 11:20-22) But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come on you.

21 When a strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace:

22 But when a stronger than he shall come on him, and overcome him, he takes from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divides his spoils.

- (Luke 8:2) And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,

- (Acts 8:5-8) Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ to them.

6 And the people with one accord gave heed to those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

8 And there was great joy in that city.

HANDING OVER YOUR LIFE TO GOD. An important step to take toward being freed is to hand over one’s whole life to God and want to follow Him with all one's heart. This is important because only a person who wants to give up sinning and making wrong choices can experience lasting freedom. If a person continues his sinful ways and does not feel genuine sorrow (2 Cor 7:10) for his wrongdoings, then the person will never be permanently freed. Even though the person is freed from evil powers for a while, they will always try to come back because the person’s impenitence is like an open door through which evil powers can enter.

   The problem is that many are only looking for relief from their current troubles and ailments and not that they want to serve the Lord and live their lives to please Him. They want Jesus to guarantee them a way out of their problems, but they do not wish to change within. Likewise, they still live in the belief that they can win something with this procrastination and lack of remorse, even though it's just the opposite. Jesus spoke very clearly that the very person who tries to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for his sake will find it:

- (Luke 9:23,24) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

24 For whoever will save his life shall lose it: but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

The following statement made by Sven Reichmann helps us understand this. He makes the point that if we defend our sinful attitudes, such as unforgiveness and bitterness, then we cannot experience true freedom. On the other hand, if we feel godly sorrow for our sins, then we are often automatically freed from all wrong forces:

God often makes an open suggestion: "Forgive. Do it for your own sake so that you would get well and rid yourself of all this!” God urges you, he leads helpful people to you, but He cannot act on your behalf. You must do it yourself. You must see that vindictiveness binds you to inability and slavery.

   There are many examples. Each person has his own unique situation. Therefore, there are no ready-made operation models for deliverance. But the Holy Spirit is our assistance, when we truly want to be freed both from slavery and from lust. When lust is gone, slavery will also disappear. Then you no longer need to command it to leave your life. It is true that sometimes God can give a special command to use authority in deliverance, but generally godly sorrow leads to salvation. If one regards this sorrow as too difficult and tries to protect himself from it – as sometimes happens in conversations – it may be that he will never be freed. But if he has only one goal, to become pure and free, then God Himself will come forth as a helper. (18)

RENUNCIATION PRAYER, OR BREAKING AWAY FROM THE ENEMY. The prayer of renunciation, or breaking away from all the works of the devil, after a person has received Jesus as Lord and Savior, is important. It is especially important for those who are involved in the occultism and witchcraft, because such people have always made a voluntary alliance with the forces of darkness. When they say the prayer of renunciation, they then dissolve this covenant and the devil's ownership of them.

    Kurt Koch, who has a lot of experience in this area, has stated the importance of the prayer of renunciation especially among occultly burdened people - that is, people who have been burdened either by their own actions or witchcraft in the family. He also states that if the strain is great, it may be difficult for a person to recite this prayer:

As comes to the pastoral care of occultist people, the significance of the prayer of renunciation is great. Why? Every sin of sorcery is a union with darkness. When we get into sorcery, we give to the devil ownership of ourselves. This ownership can be formed when our parents or grandparents practiced witchcraft. The devil knows the first commandment "…I who will punish the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation". The powers of darkness take advantage of their ownership, and the descendants of those people who have practiced sorcery do not know anything about this because they may never have practiced sorcery. The devil expresses his rights when a man whom he possesses turns.

   In the prayer of renunciation, a person legally breaks off this ownership. A soul carer present or even a few brothers, can witness the breaking off of the ownership.

   Modern theologians laugh at these issues, but the devil takes them seriously. Hundreds of cases prove that he takes them seriously. (…)

   If the burden is heavy, the prayer of renunciation will raise great difficulty. (19)

Therefore, when it comes to a prayer of renunciation, you can also recite it yourself, e.g. according to the following model. If reciting it causes difficulty and you are close to losing consciousness, then you can command the devil to leave the situation and remain bound in the name of Jesus Christ. If necessary, you can also repeat the prayer until you can recite it without difficulty:

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I break away from your power, Satan, and all the works of darkness that I have been involved in and practiced. At the same time, I renounce the witchcraft practiced by my ancestors and parents, and I hand over my life to Jesus Christ who is now my Lord and my Savior!"

CONFESSION OF SINS

- (1 John 1:7,9) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans us from all sin.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

The Bible verse above talks about the fact that we must confess our sins, then we will be forgiven and also cleansed through the blood of Jesus.

    Confession of sins and genuine grief according to God's will is one of the key things when looking for freedom from false chains. When the doors to the devil and evil spirits have been opened through the commission of sin, the same doors are closed simply through the confession of sins; that is, through the fact that a person experiences grief according to God's mind about the same things - the matter is as simple as this.

    An unclean conscience and darkness are always the precondition for evil spirits – they work in the dark – but if a person brings the things he has done into light by confessing them to God, he removes the legal ground from these forces. They no longer have the right to live in a person and influence him, but they can be easily expelled. You don't even need always a separate command for that, but they disappear automatically, when a person is broken enough before God, i.e. genuinely sorry for the things he has done.

    Corrie ten Boom brings out the importance of confessing sins well. He states that when it dawns on people, based on e.g. Deuteronomy 18:10-13, that they have sinned against God, and when they then confess their sin, they are often freed immediately after this:

In the same way as Elisha sent 'the son of the prophet' back to the place where he had lost the axe and where the miracle took place (2 King 6:5,6), I too send people back to the place where they have, being guilty of sin, opened their hearts to the devil. I ask Jesus our Savior to close the door where they have opened it. Firstly, it is necessary to convince people that they really have sinned! Deut 18:10-13 proves this. Confession is necessary, and after it we can claim that the precious promises of purifying belong also to us (John 1:7-9). How many people I saw freed when they acted obediently according to this word!  (20)

So, if you want to be freed from the chains of occultism or other dark influences, you must bring these things before God, and then you can command the evil spirits to leave.

   Below are some examples of prayers that we can use to confess our sins and command away evil influences.

   The most commonly found activities include spiritualism, spirit healing, and making our mind passive (which provides one of the widest gates for the devil to walk through), but we can also be guilty of very ordinary sins such as harboring bitterness and accusing others as well as feeling self-hatred. These, too, must be confessed as a sin against God, if we are to be freed.

   Another important matter is being freed from occult abilities and breaking our connections to the spirit world. For wrong abilities and connections do not always disappear even with conversion, but a person must separately ask God to take them away. If a person still continuously sees into the spirit world or continues to have out-of-body experiences, or has a family history of the occult, such a prayer may be necessary.

   Here are some prayers one can repeat to break the enemy’s bonds:

Oh Lord, Father, forgive me for taking part in spiritualism, spirit healing, etc. Thank You that You forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness through the blood of Your Son Jesus.

Satan and you demons, I have confessed to God that I have taken part in séances, spirit healing, etc. Now you have no more legal right in these areas, because through the blood of Jesus I have been forgiven. Therefore, I command you now in the name of Jesus Christ to leave me and my surroundings, and never to return!

_________

Oh Lord, Father, forgive me for emptying my mind and making it passive for it is not Your will. Thank You that You forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness through the blood of Your Son Jesus.

Satan and you demons, I have confessed to God that I have emptied my mind and made it passive. Now you have no more legal right in this area, because through the blood of Jesus I have received forgiveness from God. Therefore, I command you now in the name of Jesus Christ to leave me and my surroundings, and never to return!

_________

Oh Lord, Father, forgive me for my wrong connections to the spirit world! I ask You to take away those supernatural gifts and abilities that are not from You and also all such connection with the spirit world that is not from You. Thank You that You cleanse my body, soul and spirit of all unrighteousness through the blood of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, amen

Now, in the name of Jesus Christ, I command all evil spirits who gave me the ability to be in connection with the spirit world to leave my life immediately and never to return!

__________

Oh Lord, Father, forgive me for my interfering with relationships outside marriage, pornography, and other such sins! Thank You that You forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness through the blood of your Son Jesus.

Satan and you demons, I have confessed to God that I have interfered with wrong relations and pornography that are not the will of God. Now you no longer have a legal right in this area, because through the blood of Jesus I have received forgiveness from God. Therefore, I command you now in the name of Jesus Christ to leave me and my surroundings, and never to return!

__________

Oh Lord, Father, forgive me for my bitterness and my accusations towards... Thank you that You forgive me and You cleanse me of all unrighteousness through the blood of Your Son Jesus.

Satan and you demons, I have confessed to God that I have been bitter towards...  Now you no longer have a legal right in this area, because through the blood of Jesus I have received forgiveness from God. Therefore, I command you now in the name of Jesus Christ to leave me and my surroundings, and never to return!

__________

Oh Lord, Father, forgive me for my self-hatred, my suicidal thoughts, and my self-pity! Thank You that You forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness through the blood of Your Son Jesus.

Satan and you demons, I have confessed to God my self-hatred, suicidal thoughts and self-pity. Now you no longer have a legal right in this area, because through the blood of Jesus I have received forgiveness from God. Therefore, I command you now in the name of Jesus Christ to leave me and my surroundings, and never to return!

RESISTING THE ENEMY. In order to be freed, a person must utter the prayer of renunciation and confess the sins he has practiced. This is important, because true freedom can never be experienced before one wants to give up sins and wrong relationships with all of his heart. If a person does not do this, he may remain in chains forever.

   Another part of remaining free is resisting the devil whenever necessary. The fact is that the enemy of the soul does not automatically stop harassing people if he is given a place, but he can still continue to torment them. Many symptoms in the lives of people are just caused by disturbances and attacks by the enemy. Here are some common signs of the enemy’s influenc. Some people, under false anointing, may experience similar symptoms:

• Great difficulties in praying and reading the Bible. A person can even lose consciousness.

• Moments of forgetfulness and unconsciousness.

• The presence or/and pressure from foreign forces.

• Haunting and supernatural phenomena.

• Uncontrolled outbursts of anger, sexual fantasies, intense fear, or any sin or lust that is above normal. These things are a part of our sinful nature, but sometimes the enemy may act in the background to gain ground because of our former sins.

• Delusions, confusion and visions are common.

• Feeling intense fear, doubts and pain.

• Self-destructive behavior and suicidal thoughts.

• Obsessive thoughts, in which a person is driven by an internal compulsion to say and do things that are contrary to the person's  basic nature. Especially, there may be thoughts and actions that blaspheme God.

• Physical symptoms such as headache, weakness, dizziness, feeling heavy and general pain everywhere in the body are common. Some diseases such as epilepsy, deafness, and muteness can sometimes be attacks of the enemy and caused by evil spirits, although the same diseases can also have a medical cause or an injury that has nothing to do with the devil.

• Voices that are accusatory, blasphemous or threatening order a person to do something that will hurt himself or to do something humiliating. Often the voices can resemble a person's own thinking or inner speech, but be completely foreign to what the person himself thinks.

• In soul care situations, a person may experience threats, accusations or statements in their mind: "This is not working, get out of here, you will never be free!" Internal resistance in these situations is strong.

If you yourself have the above-mentioned symptoms, you should not remain passive in this area, but you can resist the enemy of the soul in the name of Jesus and on the basis of his blood. It is possible that you may experience great weakness and helplessness in that situation, but you should stay strong because it is about your own liberation.

    The following verses refer to resisting the enemy in the name of Jesus. In the first of these verses (James 4:7), it also becomes clear how we must first be subject to God from our hearts, and then to resist the devil. The order is always this:

- (Jam 4:7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

- (1 Peter 5:8,9) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brothers that are in the world.

- (Mark 16:17) And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues

- (Matt 4:10) Then said Jesus to him, Get you hence, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

- (Luke 10:17-20) And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through your name.

18 And he said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

19 Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

- (Rev 12:11) And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death.

The following story written by Neil T. Anderson shows what resisting means in practice. He describes a woman who suffered from visions of snakes and who hesitated to resist them in the name of Jesus Christ. However, when she finally dared to do it, the snakes vanished from her life:

One of the first people with whom I dealt as comes to spiritual battles and demonic activity was Daisy, a 26-year-old hippie of the 60s. Daisy was in faith and she had a university degree, but she also had serious mental and emotional problems, which had developed after her father divorced her mother. Over the course of five years, Daisy had been in the hospital three times being treated because of paranoia and schizophrenia. When she had been at my place in pastoral care for three weeks, she finally got the courage to tell me about the snakes in her life.

   "What snakes?” I asked.

   "Well, they crawl on me at night, when I am in bed," she confessed.

   "What do you do when the snakes come?”

   "I run to my mother. But they always come back, when I am alone.”

   "I'll tell you what you should do,” I said. “When you have gone to the bed and the snakes come, say aloud, 'In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to go away."

   "I can’t do it,” Daisy resisted. “I am not ready or strong enough.”

   "It is not a question of you being ready; it is a question of your position in Christ. You are as much entitled to resist Satan and force him to leave as I am.”

   Daisy wriggled before this thought. “Well, maybe I could do it,” she sighed and sounded like she had just promised to drink castor oil.

   When Daisy marched to my place the following week, she said, "The snakes have disappeared!”

   "Great! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

   "Because I was afraid you too would get them. Now I understand that it was only another part of the same lie.”

     In the course of a few months, Daisy was freed from the demonic mess and was a part of the child work of the church. If her problem had been merely neurological or caused by a chemical imbalance in her system, ordering the snakes in the name of Jesus would not have helped. But in the case of Daisy, the problem was spiritual, and five years of hospital care and medical treatment did not work. (21)

AFTER-FIGHT. When one has been deeply involved in occultism he might have to fight for weeks, even months afterwards. Even though he has been delivered, he might not feel peace because the devil continues to harass him. It is a part of the process that a person may have to experience because has previously made his mind passive and has allowed room for the devil.

    Of great importance in this area is the stable attitude of the will and resisting the enemy. When a person actively resists the devil and his interference and maintains a stable attitude of will, the forces of evil have to give up before long. They will be forced to give up because they are no longer allowed any room.

   In her book "Pyhien sota" (War on the Saints, p. 83), Jessie Penn-Lewis wrote about the importance of keeping a firm attitude, "When the believer keeps his mind in a normal condition of action, he should sustain firm willpower, i.e., ‘I want my mind not to be passive, I want to completely control and use all my abilities, I want to be clear of all that comes from the enemy’. All this indicates man's choice rather than his decision to do these things. The Powers of Darkness do not care for mere choosing, but they give up powerless, when the willpower is manifested in a determined decision. God gives us power to walk in the right direction, if we choose the right way."

     Likewise, the following verses show the importance of resistance and also endurance in a person's life. If these things are in order, true freedom can be achieved:

- (Eph 6:13) Why take to you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

- (Hebr 10:35,36) Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward.

36 For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.

Another thing to note is that it is good to separate faith and feelings. Liberation is always based on faith, not feelings. We live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), and feelings are often the complete opposite of what we actually possess in Christ.

    This looking into emotions is especially common when the liberated person experiences physical and other symptoms, similar to before. He may then think that he is not really freed and saved, but that the evil spirits have come back.

    However, it is good to note that a person just has to stand in faith that the evil spirits have gone. If a person has already confessed their sins, had them forgiven through the blood of Jesus, and given the evil spirits an order, they have really gone - it's a matter of faith, not emotion.

    Instead, it is possible that a person experiences the same symptoms as before, but now from the outside - it's a completely different thing. Every believer can be attacked by evil - even Jesus experienced it when he was in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) - but that does not mean that the person himself is under the power of evil.

    The following verses are evidence of God's protection. If you are currently struggling with this issue yourself, then it is better for you to trust the verses below than your feelings, which, however, quickly change and fluctuate:

- (1 John 4:4) You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

- (Ps 121:7) The LORD shall preserve you from all evil: he shall preserve your soul.

- (Rom 8:38,39) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- (Col 1:13) Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

READING THE WORD

- (Eph 6:16,17) Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

The verses above describe the shield of faith with which a person can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

    As for this latter, the word of God, it can indeed be a means of tools in liberation and struggle. Every time we read the word of the Bible - especially those verses that deal with our position in Christ and as children of God - we can experience increasing freedom, when “the truth shall make you free” as Jesus said (John 8:32). This goes especially to understanding righteousness and the grace of God, when we are freed from false self-accusations and enter a new level in our relationship with God.

    When it's a question of liberation from occultism and similar things, the word of the Bible can be useful in that too. When one reads aloud especially those verses of the Bible that speak of the devil's defeat and final destiny, they have been found to be very good in this area. (Rebecca Brown, who has worked with the seriously bound people, states in her book "Prepare for War", p. 347, that Revelation chapter 18 and the last two chapters are particularly good). For example, the following verses, which talk about the defeat of the devil, can be good. If reading these verses gives you trouble and you are afraid of losing consciousness, you can immediately resist the devil in the name of Jesus and then continue reading again:

- (1 John 3:8) ... For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

- (Col 2:15) And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

- (Luke 10:17-20) And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through your name.

18 And he said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

19 Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

- (Luke 11:20-22) But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come on you.

21 When a strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace:

22 But when a stronger than he shall come on him, and overcome him, he takes from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divides his spoils.

- (Matt 4:10) Then said Jesus to him, Get you hence, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

- (Matt 25:41) Then shall he say also to them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels

- (Rev 20:10) And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

- Chapters 18-22 of the Revelation 

OBJECTS. One obstacle to liberation can be various objects that have been in occult use. If a person's home contains objects used in idolatry or spells have been recited over them, they may be a base for evil spirits. Many objects are neutral in nature, but if spells are attached to them, they always bring a strain on the home - a strain that won't go away until the object has been destroyed.

    The following couple of examples from the Bible provide a good picture of how these objects should be treated. One of them is related to the city of Ephesus, where people burned their books related to magic. They must have realized that if they had not done this, they would have remained under a continuous burden. Now this bond was broken in a simple way:

- (Deut 7:25,26) The graven images of their gods shall you burn with fire: you shall not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it to you, lest you be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD your God.

26 Neither shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be a cursed thing like it: but you shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

- (Acts 19:17-19) And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds.

19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

As for your own life, ask yourself whether you want to be freed from all the chains of evil or do you want to remain bound? If you keep ‘objects which are set apart for destruction’ in your home, you will bring a curse upon your home.

   Below is a list of objects that can open a conduit for the devil’s entry into your home. You should destroy them. You can also utter the prayer of renunciation for every object before you destroy it:

• Astrological, spiritualistic and magical literature is one of the biggest channels for the devil.

    The most famous of the books in this area is probably the 6th and 7th books of Moses (called the Black Bible), which contains a wide variety of spells, teaching about communicating with spirits and which actually has nothing to do with the Bible. Kurt Koch provides in his book “Onko paholainen olemassa?” (Between Christ and Satan) numerous examples of how this book has produced difficult family histories, mental illnesses, and how it is difficult for these people and their descendants to turn to Christ later.

• Many souvenirs such as idols and statues, fetishes, magic drums, and masks of the devil can provide a home to evil spirits because many of them have been dedicated to idolatry and carry spells. People bring a curse into their home when they bring in these souvenirs.

• Talismans, amulets, and magic items that are thought to have magical powers and are thought to bring good luck can be a conduit for the devil. Similar objects associated with human superstition include images of saints, statues, religious relics and crucifixes.

• Heavy-rock and other cassettes and discs can be harmful. Many of these bands are owned by Satanists, who have dedicated themselves to Satan worship.

• Objects placed under the skin, such as metal needles, can be common, e.g., in Satan worship or in the religious practice of natural peoples. Such objects should be removed by a doctor or ask the Lord to remove them, because they provide a channel for evil spirits.

• There are also non-occult objects received as gifts that can carry a curse and can be difficult to identify unless God gives the person a special gift of discernment. These objects themselves may be neutral, but the curse connected to them can bring a burden into one’s home and life.

• Crystals, which are especially used in the new age movement, can be harmful because they have been used in the service of evil. Otherwise, they are neutral objects in themselves.

• Children's toys and games can easily contain signs and objects related to occultism. It is certainly worthwhile to discuss this threat with your children and explain why the game-playing must be abandoned and the games destroyed.