I often find people who have for years been operating under religious spirits that they think are true gifts of the spirit; in truth, they are demonic counterfeits. They seldom get delivered unless they accept the truth that they are deceived, and renounce the false gift and get delivered. I have seen families hide the truth of their bondage without realizing that they are adding to the work of demons by operating in pride and secrecy instead of getting delivered.  Your pastor, elders or church leaders need to know you need deliverance, because they watch for your soul.

 

 

DECEPTION AND POSSESSION

 

WAR ON THE SAINTS CHAPTER V,

PAGE 96

 

PASSIVITY Defined: The non-use of will, or any of the faculties, or part of the whole being of man.  It is practically the counterfeit of surrender.

 

            To be deceived by lying spirits does not mean that a believer is possessed by an evil spirit; and a person may be "possessed" without having been deceived.  For instance, a believer may be misled in guidance, or be deceived by counterfeit visions and manifestations, without these deceptions leading on into possession; and where there is yielding to sin, either known or unknown, even by a believer, an evil spirit may take possession of the mind, or body, without there being any experience of deception (1 Cor. V.5.) War On The Saints, Jessie Penn Lewis

 

            It must be understood that possession is not ownership as it would imply in our modern day English, but to be under the influence of demonic bondage to a lesser or greater degree.

 

Possession Defined: Any hold which evil spirits have in or upon a person in any degree. 

 

Possessed Defined: Strong's Concordance G1139 and G1142 daimonizomai,

dahee-mon-id'-zom-ahee;

 

To be exercised by a demon:--have a demon or  be vexed by a demon.

The word demon comes from the Greek daimon, which means "an evil spirit" and comes from a root word which means "a shadow".

 

A.             Websters definition of possession:  Something owned or possessed.

 

B.        Bible Definition:  To be exercised by, have a, or be vexed by a devil (-s).

 

All of these terms translate possessed but none means ownership by a demon.

 

            Grievously sinning saints (and such there are) may go beyond the old nature.  In cases of serious, persistent, scandalous sin, such as gross immorality or participation in occultism or occult religionism, demons may exercise control over the believer for a time until his sin is confessed and forsaken and deliverance from the evil powers is gained.  (What Demons Can  Do To Saints by Merrill F. Unger, Moody Press, page 46).

 

 

 

 

EXAMPLES

 

Mark 7:25  For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

 

A.        The woman's daughter had an unclean spirit.

 

Mark 1:23  And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

 

B.        They were with or had an unclean spirit.

 

Mark 5:2  And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

 

C.        They were vexed with an unclean spirit.

 

Luke 6:17  And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

 

Luke 6:18  And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.

 

All of these terms translate possessed but none means ownership by a demon.

 

Eph 4:27  Neither give place to the devil.

 

Place Defined: a particular portion of space, as that occupied by a person or thing.

 

Yielding to deceptive leadings of the devil can cause a person to become bound by evil spirits, it is not God when spirits cause reactions in your body.

 

( Pain in the Body, strange noises, voices that keep talking to you, numbness in the body, paralyzing feeling in the body, lose of consciousness, and buzzing sounds in your head, while so called being lead of the Lord).

 

GROUND Defined:  Anything in a person in which evil spirits gain control or influence.

 

Page 95: Misinterpretation of the manifestation can cause further ground for evil spirits to use to deceive and hold the believer into a greater degree of bondage.

 

 

 

 

 

Degree of the ground needed for evil spirits to possess cannot be defined:

            The needed degree of ground given to an evil spirit in order to possess, cannot be clearly defined, but that there is (1) Sin without evil spirit possession; (2) Sin which opens the door to possession; and (3) Sin which is unmistakeably the result of Satanic Possession (John 13:2) is beyond question. War On The Saints, Jessie Penn Lewis - Page 95.

 

Counterfeit Defined: coun·ter·feits. 1. To make a copy of, usually with the intent to defraud;

 

            Multitudes of believers are "possessed" in various degrees but do not know it, as they attribute the "manifestations" to "natural" causes, or to "self" or "sin," and they put them down to causes because they do not appear to bear the characteristics of demoniacal possession.

 

            There is also a degree of deception by deceiving spirits, in connection with counterfeits which have been accepted by the believer.  Through "possession" by accepting the counterfeit of the workings of the Holy Spirit, believers can, unknowingly, be brought to (1) put their trust in evil spirits, (2) rely on them, (3) surrender to them, (4) be guided by them, (5) pray to them, (6) listen to them, (7) obey them, (8) receive messages from them, (9) receive Scripture texts from them, (10) help them in their desires and workings, (11) stand by them, and (12) work for them; believing they are in these attitudes towards God, and doing these for God.  War On The Saints, Jessie Penn Lewis - Page 95.

 

            Satan uses Scriptures to work deception and to make you think that you are being led by God because of  verses telling you to do things out of order.

 

Mat 4:5  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

 

Mat 4:6  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

 

Mat 4:7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (Jesus rightly divided the Word of Truth).

 

            The key to whether you are being led by God is this: Are you rightly dividing the Word of Truth?  Scriptures coming to your mind means nothing, what means something is are you rightly dividing the Word.

 

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

 

 

COUNTERFEIT MANIFESTATIONS

 

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

 

            It is of the utmost importance that every believer understand that the enemy of our soul will pretend that he is God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit when it suits his plan of deception.  This statement is true in respect to the fact that the Bible teaches that there are false apostles, false prophets, false teachers, false pastors or shepherds, and of no doubt false evangelists.  These all carry with them spirits that can and will transfer as a counterfeit manifestation of the spirit of God using them.

 

            The first thing that the enemy must do is keep the deceived believer thinking that every time they have a leading, it is the Spirit of God giving it to them, not realizing that a believer can operate under dual leadings and, if not judged, they will accept a revelation from Satan, thinking that it is God.  A good example of this is Peter (Matthew 16:13-17, 21-23) when he, by the Spirit of God, had revelation that Jesus "was the Christ" and a few verses later, he spoke by Satan that Jesus was not to be crucified.

 

            The church is literally loaded with dual manifestations operating un-judged and un-discerned because of a false safety net that gives the impression that once you are saved and spirit filled, it is not possible that Satan could speak through you, when that is just not true. 

 

            TRUE AND COUNTERFEIT ACCEPTED TOGETHER

 

            Briefly put, this is a glimpse into the mixed "manifestations" which have come upon the Church of God, since the Revival in Wales; for, almost without exception, in every land where revival has since broken forth, within a very brief period of time the counterfeit stream has mingles with the true; and almost without exception, true and false have been accepted together, because of the workers being ignorant of the possibility of concurrent streams; or else have been rejected together by those who could not detect the one from the other; or it has been believed that there was no "true" at all, because the majority of believers fail to understand that there can be mixed workings of the (1) Divine and Satanic, (2) Divine and human, (3) Satanic and human, (4) soul and spirit, (5) soul and body, (6) body and spirit; the three latter in the way of feelings and consciousness, and the three former in the way of source and power.  (War On The Saints, Unabridged Edition, by Jessie Penn-Lewis, pp 99-100).

 

            I would like to take the time to list a few ways that dual manifestations operate through counterfeits:

 

1.         Evil Spirits counterfeiting the presence of God - There are many believers who judge that God is speaking to them by feelings upon their body, such as goose-bumps, hair standing up on their arms, heat or chills upon their body, or an ecstatic feeling of joy or fear.  Although the Holy Spirit can be felt, merely trusting in feeling upon the body frame or the emotions, without judging them, could be one of the worse mistakes that a believer could make.  Job's friend, Eliphaz the Temanite, felt most of all of the above and thought it was God, but it was not the Lord at all.  Yet, he had supernatural feelings, presence, and a voice.

 

Job 4:12  Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.

 

Job 4:13  In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,

 

Job 4:14  Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

 

Job 4:15  Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:

 

Job 4:16  It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

 

Job 4:17  Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

 

Job 4:18  Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

 

Job 42:7  And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.

 

Job 42:8  Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

 

2.         Evil Spirits can also counterfeit the conviction work of the Holy Spirit - When an evil spirit counterfeits conviction and reproof of sin and righteousness, (John 16:7-8) it leaves its victim feeling anguish and condemnation and deceives them into thinking that it is the Spirit of God making them feel this way.  When the victim repents, it's not enough; the victim often feels as if they can't do enough for God.  This type of person is usually operating under spirits of rejection, guilt, and condemnation that have possibly been in their life ever since they were a child.  This type of spirit will keep the victim's soul, mind will and emotions in constant depression and seeking approval with deep feelings of not being able to please anyone, not God nor man.  This road to freedom from this spirit is to attack it with Romans 8:1, Hebrews 4:9-11, and II Corinthians 10:3-5.

 

3.         A perfect example of manifestations of counterfeit spirits is found in II Corinthians 11:3-4. 

 

2 Cor 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

 

2 Cor 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

 

             Deception can open the door to a believer becoming bound by an evil spirit, depending on the degree of deception and yielding their life over to the deceptive spirits. Paul, while talking to the Spirit filled Corinthian church, warned them of receiving another spirit.  Many honest, well meaning people, sinners and saints, have been bound by deception, opening the door to satanic bondage and a grave need for deliverance from being captive to a deceiving spirit.

 

1.         The preaching of Another Jesus: Another Jesus is not the Lord Jesus Christ being ministered to the hearer but a Spirit of Anti-Christ being taught as Jesus and the deceived victim opens their spirit man up to an evil spirit called Another Jesus or Anti-Christ. Without being critical, I have met many believers who go to churches that are preaching another Jesus and the entire congregation are manifesting the same spirit of anti-Christ.

 

Testimony: While praying for a number of people coming through a prayer line, a lady came through screaming, "Jesus, Jesus, Jeeesusss", with a hissing sound.  I recognized that this was another Jesus not the Lord Jesus Christ being called upon.  When I said to the Lady, "Which Jesus?", she started cursing me out and called me an S.O.B. and how dare you challenge me.  I cast it out and God set her free.

 

2.             Receiving another Spirit: When a believer or sinner receives something operating in their life that they think is God and is not, they stand a chance of receiving another spirit.  The danger in this is that the deceived person will fight to hold on to the manifestation of what they consider the Holy Spirit when it is not.  Religious spirits have a ball living in the minds and honest hearts of deceived people, sinner or saint.

 

            Religious Spirits Manifestations (Religious but not saved):  One type of religious spirit will have a person believing in God but never accepting Jesus Christ as Lord.  They will even go so far as to pray, but never become born again by confessing their sins to Jesus and asking him to become their Lord and Saviour.  This type of deceived person is yet in their sins and will die and go to hell if they don't repent.  All this is done to open the victim up to another spirit.  This type of person even prides themselves on how the Lord blesses them, but never serves the one they confess as  blessing them.  Satan does this by blinding their mind so they will not give their life to the Lord (II Corinthians 4:3-4).

 

3.             Another Gospel:  A Gospel inspired by Spirit of Error, causing the deceived believer to depart from the true faith, giving heed to a Seducing Spirits and Doctrines of Devils.

1 Tim 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

 

The Basic Principles For Testing Teachings By Teaching Spirits

 

            Since thought, or "belief," originates either from the God of Truth, or the father of lies (John 8:44), there is but one basic principle for testing the source of all doctrine, or "thoughts" and "beliefs," held by believers, or unbelievers, i.e., the test of the revealed Word of God.  All "truth" is in harmony with the only channel of revealed truth in the world - the written Word of God.   All "teachings" originating from deceiving spirits-

 

            1. Weaken the authority of the Scriptures;

            2. Distort the teaching in the Scriptures;