Don’t Play With Fire

Satan’s feast day is upon us when people now of all ages get caught up in all kinds of paganism.  Most of it is fairly benign.

Pumpkin and apple picking, hay rides, trick-or-treating or a costume party (depending what you depict) is probably not going to hurt anyone.

Even watching an old horror movie from your childhood for nostalgic reasons is probably not the worst thing.  But certain activities could have you playing with fire.  Literally!

Seeing psychics and fortune tellers, playing with Ouija boards or tarot cards, having seances or dabbling in witchcraft or certain role-playing games (Dungeons and Dragons) can open doors to evil.

Many people like to watch these ghost hunter type shows where people look for or discuss their interactions with the supernatural.  When these shows are not from a Christian-based point-of-view, they may open doors.

In fact many of the people involved in these shows report personal issues of their own to exorcists and religious demonologists.

Some people want to go and personally visit or stay in places reported to be haunted.  In this case, evil may latch onto our curiosities and wreak havoc.

You see I have read and researched a decent amount of material on spiritual warfare from the likes of Fr. Gabriel Amorth, Fr. Malachi Martin, Fr. Gary Thomas, Fr. Vincent Lampert, Fr. Jack Ashcraft, Ralph Sarchie, Adam Blai along with Ed and Loraine Warren.

I have learned a few things about the demonic that I think is good to share at this time of year.  It is not to scare you, but inform you.

First of all, the devil and his minions (fallen angels) are real.  Demonic infestation/oppression (hauntings, phenomena, physical attacks) are real.

Oppression can lead to demonic possession which is real and has been on the rise for the last quarter century according to those who combat this stuff.

Ugh…this is ridiculous.  I don’t believe this crap…

No problem, but that is exactly what Satan wants you to think.  However, not believing does not remove you from the equation.

We will all die some day and will go to Heaven or Hell.   To not believe in the existence of Satan and his fallen angels is to call God a liar.

If you read the Bible, Jesus and His apostles (with power given to them by Him) performed numerous exorcisms.  Were these made up stories?

Weh-weh-well that was a long time ago…

The spiritual realm operates in eternity, not our time.  Also, if the demonic were active when Jesus walked the earth don’t you think they are active now that we have removed Him from society?

The experts on this will tell us that the demonic usually manifest themselves in our lives by us letting them in when we open doors to them (intentionally or unintentionally).

They play on our temptations and attach themselves to our sins.  Sometimes they tempt us, especially this time of year through our curiosity.

Jesus tells us Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matthew 7:7-8).

When we seek Jesus we will find Him.  When we seek Satan we will find him too.

Let me get back to haunted houses.  What makes people realize a haunting?

The answer is supernatural phenomena.  This can include objects moving, knocks, scratches, smells (usually sulfuric), temperature changes and even visual manifestations.

This is of course done with no human manipulation, but rather spiritual.  The next question is the type of spirit.

God created human beings and angels.  As I said earlier, the devil and his underlings are fallen angels.

For a deceased human being’s spirit to be here on earth is not impossible, but rare.  What they are doing here I don’t know.

Are they in a state of Purgatory?  Are they sent to deliver a message?  Are they avoiding moving onto the afterlife?

This is something we will learn when we pass on.  However, human spirits have no physical power according to those in the field.

Therefore, they are not capable of much phenomena.  Maybe they could wisp by and make a tissue flutter.

Real physical phenomena like a picture flying off the wall or a chair shooting across the room (yes, this stuff reportedly happens) can only be done by a spirit with angelic powers or the Divine.

The Trinity and the 2/3 of angels who obeyed God’s plan love us and would not harm or scare us in such a way.  Only the 1/3 of rebellious angels (now demons) would.

So, if you or someone you know has or is experiencing something like this, the perpetrator(s) is/are demonic forces, not “ghosts” or human spirits.

Demons are also perpetual liars.  They know our strengths, weaknesses and sins and attempt at times to trick us by drawing us in.

They will sometimes pose as human spirits-often deceased loved ones to play on our emotions.  This is why calling or attempting to communicate with the dead is forbidden and dangerous.

That is why we must avoid seances, Ouija boards, psychics, etc.  Even though they may appear accurate, that is how they draw us in.  The devil usually comes to us in shades of gray, not black.

If he came with fire and pitchforks we would run away.  If he mixes enough truth into his lies we may buy in.

From what I have read there are 2 pieces of advice I have received from my research on spiritual warfare.

If on the unlikely happening we come into contact with a spiritual being we should say “in the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I command you to leave.  Go where the Lord sends you harming no one along the way.”

If on the even rarer occasion a spirit comes with some type of message from God we should test it by asking “do you confess that Jesus Christ came in the Flesh for the redemption of sins?”

If it answers in the affirmative and says His Holy Name, tell it to deliver the message and then it should leave.  If a spirit tries to keep an open line of communication, it is probably not of God and should be commanded to leave.

Overt demonic activity is still very rare even if on the rise.

I will discuss ways to combat evil next week when we come upon All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

Until then, put on the Armor of God and don’t play with fire.  You just might get burned.  Talk soon.

-Marksman