Overview:
Satan the prince of the power of the air, the master liar … passive mind techniques, concentration, Eastern religions … the circle used in witchcraft, in Eastern religions, in pagan religions during Bible times … pentagrams, hexagrams, triangles … nature worship, prayers to the dead … yin and yang … sexual immorality … waging a spiritual battle.
The prince of the power of the air
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul refers to Satan as the prince of the power of the air. He tells the Ephesians: “And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-2). And later in the same letter, Paul says we are battling “against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
These are forces we cannot see with our human eyes, so we need spiritual insight to be aware of their stratagems. Just because we cannot see these forces does not mean we can ignore them. The Bible says we are not to sit complacently in neutral territory, but we are to enter the spiritual battle as the people of Israel were instructed to enter the land of Canaan: “by thrusting out all your enemies from before you” (Deuteronomy 6:19).
Satan the master liar
American churches tend not to take seriously the Bible’s admonitions against magic and sorcery and star worship. I’ve never heard a minister warn his congregation not to read the daily horoscope in their newspaper, or not to laugh over the fortune cookies at the local Chinese restaurant, or not to visit the palm reader at the county fair. These things are regarded as harmless, light entertainment; but in fact they are tempting demonic spirits to take control over us. They are like that first cigarette that the lung cancer victim once smoked, with Satan assuring him that no harm would come.
The Bible never says it is okay to participate in fortune telling “as long as it is just for fun”; the Bible simply says don’t do it. The same goes for hypnotism, automatic writing, séances, and Ouija boards. Christians need to be warned not to engage in these practices; they need to be warned not to determine friendships depending on a person’s Zodiac sign. All these activities invite involvement with demonic powers that are stronger than we are. Satan, the premier liar and deceiver, is behind them all. His technique is still the same as in the Garden of Eden with Eve. He first asks, “Did God say so and so?” Then he says, “Well, let me tell you, God was just trying to keep you from something good, from something fun. So in this case you’re better off just ignoring him.”
Demons are real
Demons are, of course, invisible to us. Their existence is denied or ignored by science, but the results of their activity are visible everywhere in human behavior. Demons are stronger than we are; human flesh by itself cannot defeat Satan and his army of demons. The only power that is stronger than Satan is the power of the name of Jesus. This puts Christians at the very center of earth’s battle between good and evil. Christians alone may pronounce the name of Jesus against Satan’s demons. The more ignorant Christians remain about the role they have to play, the happier Satan is.
Incidentally, the currently popular idea of “binding” demons is not Biblical. Jesus already “bound” Satan with his death on the cross. The Bible tells us that demons are to be cast out, not “bound.” And demons cannot be cast out with so-called holy water or by waving a crucifix. Only the name of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to cast out demons.
The Spirit of Jesus must, however, be present in the person invoking Jesus’ name. The Bible tells us that seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva invoked the name of Jesus over a man possessed by a demon, but “the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:15-16). Demons are indeed real, and their power is real, but the power of Jesus is greater.
Passive mind techniques
Satan and his demons see a passive mind as an invitation to enter and take control. A passive mind is necessary for hypnotism to take place, for example. That is why a hypnotist says things like, “relax,” “you are feeling sleepy,” “watch the pendulum go back and forth … back and forth … back and forth”: He wants to create in his subject a completely passive mind that can be controlled by outside spirits.
Various meditation techniques like Transcendental Meditation rely on creating a passive mind, which can then be taken over by demonic powers. The currently popular “mindfulness meditation” is promoted by major healthcare organizations such as United Health Care. No doubt they regard themselves as too scientific to believe in such things as demons. But mindfulness meditation, when carried to its logical conclusion, is a form of self-hypnotism.
Saying a mantra over and over again has an effect similar to focusing on a pendulum going back and forth: It causes a passive mind and invites demonic powers to enter one’s mind. Once again, ministers need to speak out; our watchmen need to wake up and warn all their unsuspecting citizens.
Concentration
Here I am using the word “concentration” not in the sense of thinking hard about a difficult subject, but in the sense of focusing thoughts (which are spirits) in a powerful way on a single point.
Concentration on a word (a technique used in karate) or concentration on a particular point in a picture, are techniques used to summon demonic power to a particular location. The voodoo doll is an example of the use of focused thought or concentration. The person using the doll associates the doll with some other person, then puts a pin in a particular spot on the doll where he would like to send some power of the air (a demon) to affect that person. The pin is only an indicator, however; what is really necessary is concentrated (or focused) thought. So, for example, if the voodooist wants to cause a headache in another person, he puts a pin in the head and focuses all his thought on sending a demon to cause a headache in that other person.
Most of us have heard of acupuncture, a medical treatment from China that also uses pins. Did you know that when you take an acupuncture treatment, you are actually making yourself into a voodoo doll? The acupuncture practitioner applies pins to parts of your body where you may want pain relief, and then focuses thoughts on those pins. Of course, the treatment is advertised as being “only for good, only for helping.” But demons are demons; once you let them in, they cannot be controlled by human means. They can only be cast out by the power of Jesus’ name. They may at first deceive you into thinking they are doing good, but like Satan himself, they are liars and deceivers.
It is interesting that we have just noticed two very similar techniques that come from opposite sides of the globe. Acupuncture comes from China, and voodoo from Africa and the Caribbean, but they both use pins and focused thoughts to direct demonic powers to specific parts of the body. It shows the universality of Satan’s influence and, alas, the universality of human willingness to tap into demonic power.
Eastern religions
Eastern religious teaching has become especially prominent in American culture in recent years. As already pointed out, mindfulness meditation and acupuncture have become generally accepted by major healthcare institutions. Equally disturbing is the acceptance of yoga and tai chi classes in many churches and church-sponsored institutions like Assisted Living Centers. Defenders of such classes will say about yoga, “It’s just stretching.” But why not do ordinary stretching exercises, if that is the case? And they will say about tai chi, “It’s just gentle calisthenics.” But why not do ordinary calisthenics, if that is the case? In both cases, the answer is because there is something extra in tai chi and yoga, and the something extra is invocation of unseen powers of the air.
Martial arts from Eastern cultures all attempt to invoke “powers of the air”—which are, in fact, demons. Karate, yoga, tai chi, judo, jujitsu: all call on demonic powers through focused thoughts. These powers may be invisible, but they are real. Satan has cleverly removed any understanding of demonic forces from our religious training in seminaries. Ministers without such knowledge are unable to warn us of the dangers.
Circles in witchcraft
The circle has significance both in witchcraft and in Eastern religions. Now, you may be wondering if we should really take this idea seriously. After all, a circle is a perfectly harmless and everyday shape. Circles are everywhere, from the wheels on our cars to the dinner plates on our tables. Recall, however, that the pin also is a harmless everyday object, but as we have noticed, it can become the focus for demon activity when used in voodoo or acupuncture. The difference comes when it is used as a focal point for thoughts (demons).
Sometimes the public explanation given for the circle’s significance in occult teaching is that it represents completeness or wholeness. This is, of course, an idea of wholeness and completeness that completely excludes God! It may easily become linked to an idea of the universal brotherhood of man: a brotherhood that supposedly exists apart from repentance and the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
In Eastern religions such as Taoism, a circle may stand for the entire universe. The South Korean flag shows an example of this, with a circle representing the universe, and the symbols within the circle representing the yin and yang from which everything in the universe is supposed to have emanated.
Historically the circle has represented the sun in various pagan religions and been the focus of sun worship. (The Egyptian sun god Ra was no doubt one of the gods the Lord brought judgment upon at the first Passover. At Exodus 12:12 the Lord told Moses: “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.” My guess is that the next morning the Egyptians found that all the circles they used to represent the god Ra had been defaced or destroyed.)
One symbol used prominently in sorcery is called the solar cross, which consists of a circle divided into four quadrants by vertical and horizontal lines, like the crosshairs in a telescopic sight.
From ancient times the circle in the solar cross has represented the sun—a source of power—and the point where the lines cross at the center of the circle has been a point of focus for the powers of the air.
I know of at least one Christian organization which uses the solar cross as their logo. The cross in the circle is quite obviously not a Christian cross (not a crucifixion cross since its horizontal and vertical lines are of equal length). Does this organization have any idea what they are doing? Where did they come up with this symbol? One can only wonder.
Do we need to form circles to pray?
A standard ritual in some Christian families is for everyone to stand in a circle and hold hands to pray before a meal. Christians should be aware that this is how witches pray before a coven ceremony. Witches stand in a circle to focus power—the power of spirits of the air—into the center of their circle. The perimeter of the circle is also thought to protect them from “alien” powers, like the power of Christians’ prayers coming against their evil purposes! If there is a break in the perimeter, they warn, it could let in those alien powers. (The power of Jesus is, of course, stronger than any power witches may call upon.)
In Christian groups there is sometimes a sense that prayer cannot begin until everyone has joined in the circle and everyone is holding hands with the next person. I have even heard voices say, “Don’t let the circle be broken.” They are unconsciously subscribing to the witches’ idea of concentrating power at an area of focus: an idea which is effective for summoning spirits of the air (demons), but not for invoking the Holy Spirit of God. The idea of holding hands in a circle in order to pray appears nowhere in the Bible. If you say, “But it is just a way of our feeling unity in our family,” all I can tell you is God would be pleased if you would continue to pray, but get rid of the “unbroken circle” idea.
The pyramid and the all-seeing eye
Many Americans are aware that the pyramid on our dollar bills, along with the all-seeing eye at its top, are occult symbols; but these symbols are usually dismissed as quaint artifacts of antiquity with no modern relevance. But they are very much alive in modern Freemasonry and should give us pause whenever we see them. The pyramid hearkens back to the days of Pharaoh’s magicians in Egypt, who had true magical powers, not just sleight of hand capability. (Recall how they could change a staff into a serpent and the waters of the Nile into blood, in imitation of the Lord’s miracles.) The public explanation given for the all-seeing eye is that it represents protection under the eye of God. But in reality the eye represents not protection, but the authority of a god other than the God of the Bible: an authority that wants to rule over us in place of the true God. (Masons assume they will be favored sons of this false god because of their secret and blasphemous rituals.)
Pentagrams
The pentagram—especially the pentagram with two points going up and one point going straight down—is used among occultists and sorcerers as a symbol of Satan. In various cultures the pentagram has been thought to have magic powers. So why, then, is the pentagram in such popular use by Christians to represent stars at Christmas time? Christians need to be aware of these things; they need to be awake. Why aren’t ministers saying anything?
Hexagrams
You have probably heard the expression “to put a hex on someone.” The word hex is a reference to the hexagram: a six-pointed star composed of two superimposed equilateral triangles, one triangle pointing up, and the other pointing down. The hexagram is considered one of the most powerful symbols in witchcraft for summoning demons. Its power is sometimes explained as the intersecting of male and female “principles,” with the upward-pointing triangle representing the male principle and the downward-pointing triangle the female principle.
The hexagram is very visible in the news nowadays as it is the symbol on the flag of the modern State of Israel. You may wonder how an occult symbol ended up on the nation’s flag, and the answer is it comes out of an occult branch of Judaism known as Kabbalah. In the Kabbalah it is referred to as the star of David or the shield of David, and apparently has ancient origins. Those origins have to do with sorcery and magic, and have nothing to do with the teaching of the Bible. In fact, the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah are of a type that is repeatedly condemned by the Lord in the Bible. Moreover, it seems likely that the so-called “star of David” is actually the star of worship denounced by the Lord in the following passage from the prophet Amos:
“You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you made for yourselves; therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. (Amos 5:26-27)
The image of the star-god was odious to the Lord in ancient times, and still is today.
Evangelical Christian preachers may be heard on the radio or TV nowadays soliciting money from Christians to send support to the State of Israel, arguing that they will thereby “help fulfill prophecy.” But shouldn’t the sight of the hexagram standing boldly on the Israeli flag be a warning to them? That hexagram is not a shield of the Biblical King David, but a magic shield intended to ward off so-called “evil spirits”: foremost among those spirits being the Holy Spirit of the risen Christ! The Israeli flag with its sorcerer’s hexagram stands in public opposition to the message of the crucified Jesus.
And by the way: Where in scripture is it ever recorded that God asked people to send money to “help fulfill” his prophecies? That is an idea manufactured by humans to serve human ends. Christians should be using their money to sponsor missionaries who will bring the gospel to Israel. That is our calling: to bring the gospel to the four corners of the earth, not to send money to raise ever higher a flag which invokes demonic powers.
Satan does not care about originality
Once Satan finds a ploy that works, he uses it and re-uses it. He uses it universally, wherever people may be found, and he applies it generation after generation. Here are three universal ploys used by Satan over and over again.
Satan’s ploy #1: nature worship
The natural world provides our food and clothing and material for homes, so Satan finds it easy to convince men to worship nature—to worship the creature rather than the Creator. God warned his people against this deception back in the time of Moses. He said:
“And beware lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” (Deuteronomy 4:19)
Of course in modern times we are too sophisticated to fall for this deception. Or are we? Our schools teach that everything around us—including food and clothing—comes from the big bang, not from God. This thing called the big bang determined all the laws of physics, they assert, and determined everything that has ever happened in the universe since then.
Now, most scientists would deny that they worship the big bang. They would say, “It’s not an object of worship; it’s just something that is there.” And yet, claiming that the big bang is the source of everything in the universe, including all life—including us—is a kind of worship. When you make the big bang a substitute for God, it becomes a god itself. And scientists are offering sacrifices to this false god: The sacrifices they offer are the minds of their children and our children, who are taught in school that science is superior to the word of the true and living God. And this makes Satan the deceiver very happy.
A recent trend in the science world is the search for life on other planets. Astronomers are looking for planets which meet certain criteria which they think can support life. They say that if the conditions are right, “Life will do this,” and “Life will do that,” as though there is now an entity called Life with a capital L that can bring into existence individual living things all by itself. They have manufactured in their minds a thing called Life that can create living things. These scientists are no different than the ancients who attributed events on earth to gods like Zeus and Prometheus. When they cannot explain something, they invent a god to be the cause.
Satan’s ploy #2: prayers to the dead
Another of Satan’s favorite ploys over the centuries and around the world is to convince people that they can appeal to the dead for help in this life. Shinto worshipers in Japan, Hindus in India, some Indian tribes in North American, all make offerings and prayers to dead ancestors. And unfortunately the practice is very much alive in some supposedly Christian churches. Prayers to the dead—prayers that pretend to be Christian prayers—can be easily found on the internet, as well as in Catholic churches. Here is one example from the internet:
The most common prayer used to ask for St. Anthony’s help with finding a lost object is: ”St. Anthony, St. Anthony please come around; something is lost and cannot be found.” Even if you’re not Catholic St. Anthony can help you find lost items or help bring your loved ones back to you.
Anyone who has read the Bible will know, however, that this kind of prayer is an abomination to God. God told the prophet Isaiah:
And when they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the wizards who chirp and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? (Isaiah 8:19)
The implication is, if people consult dead spirits instead of God, it means God is not their God! There is no middle ground. “The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4), and he will not give his glory to another. Séances, in which a seer attempts to bring back the spirit of a dead person and have a conversation with it, are obviously disallowed by this teaching. But so also are prayers to saints and (sorry, Catholics) prayers to Mary disallowed. Such prayers are, in effect, prayers to false gods. We are to pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross so we could do that. How can we set aside such an amazing gift that God has given us at such a terrible price? Nowhere in the Bible did God say false worship was okay as long as the worshiper had good intentions.
Satan’s ploy #3: sex
The sex drive is powerful enough that in at least one religion it has been credited with creating the universe. That is the claim made by the Taoist religion for the so-called yin and yang principles. The yin and yang represent male and female forces which are ostensibly so powerful as to create everything else in the universe by converging with one another. And this reminds us of a similar idea which we saw in the converging triangles of the hexagram—triangles which are said to correspond to male and female principles. We see that when Satan finds something that works on one group of people, he’ll use it wherever he can on other people, as well.
Yin and yang principles
You may be thinking in response to all of this, “If some people somewhere want to believe that male and female principles created the universe, let them go ahead. It’s a foolish idea, but it’s not going to affect me at all.” But the yin and yang principles are called upon in various Eastern practices which have been imported into America: practices like yoga and tai chi. And the demons that are being invoked are real and dangerous. American Christians are so naïve that these practices have even been brought into some churches. In America the fear of being called “intolerant” often supersedes the fear of God.
Think about the fact that if you want me to come toward you, you can either call out, “Please come here,” or you can silently use a waving motion with your hand beckoning me to come. Demons, of course, understand both these kinds of communication as well. The waving motions of tai chi will do just as well as verbal commands.
One “tolerant” minister defended his church’s acceptance of tai chi classes by saying in a mocking voice, “Do you mean to tell me there is something wrong with doing this?”—as he imitated one of the arm waving movements of tai chi. He was not interested in knowing that tai chi has its roots in religious beliefs which call on demons. His ministerial training had not taught him how to deal with such beliefs, and probably had taught him that people who talked about demons were unscientific and unsophisticated.
Triangle power in America
The powers invoked by “triangle power” in the hexagram are real, and are being invoked by sorcerers still today. The triangle power is augmented by practitioners of magic by combining the triangles into a pyramid. As already pointed out, pyramid power is one of the occult powers called upon in Freemasonry—an organization quite common in America, and an organization whose members brim with outward respectability and may even boast that they lead church Bible studies on Sunday morning.
Wicca (witchcraft) chapters are not quite as mainline as Masonry yet, but nowadays they are not afraid to announce their presence; and they are present. The existence of all these occultists in American society means demons are constantly being called upon. Furthermore, the people calling them out are, in the end, not able to control them, because the only power stronger than the demons is the power of Jesus Christ.
Sexual immorality
Thanks to our electronic media, and thanks to Christian hesitancy and lack of awareness, the demon of lust is virtually everywhere. You don’t have to subscribe to a porn site on the internet to get pornography; so-called “soft porn” is common in our movies and TV programs and popular music. One pornographic image, or even the memory of such an image in one’s thoughts, can invite the demon of lust to come in and take control. If you think it is not very powerful, then look at how it is destroying American families.
To speak about demons is to invite mocking from Hollywood and from the media in general. The phrase “demon of lust,” if it were to appear in a Hollywood movie, would most likely be spoken by a wild-eyed country preacher—a demented, killjoy character out to deprive some young couple of their right to have sex outside marriage. Two of Satan’s favorite tools are mockery and scoffing; they hide the seriousness of the truth. Yet the truth is: There is a demon of lust, and in spite of the scoffing—or perhaps because of the scoffing—this demon is one of Satan’s most successful helpers.
The battle against sexual immorality is not a new battle; it is a battle that was fought in Bible times, as well. The two most prominent Canaanite objects of worship when the Israelites entered the land of Canaan were the male god Ba’al and the female goddess Asherah. The two were often depicted next to one another to achieve (once again) the convergence of male and female principles. And they were worshiped with the help of “cult prostitutes” of both sexes, meaning the demon of lust was invoked through homosexual and bisexual and lesbian activity—as part of their standard religious practices.
One place these Canaanite gods are mentioned is in the story of Gideon in the book of Judges. Gideon was called upon by God to lead a heroic military victory, but he could not do so until he tore down the Canaanite shrine to Ba’al and Asherah on his father’s property. Here is what the Lord commanded him:
That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Ba′al which your father has, and cut down the Ashe′rah that is beside it … (Judges 6:25)
Gideon could do nothing until he had gotten rid of those practices which called on the demon of lust. It is still the same with Christians today; we cannot serve God unless our house is swept clean of any pornography or anything that brings into our lives the demon of lust. That demon will keep us away from God’s presence, and without God’s presence we will be helpless. But today we have a great advantage over Gideon. We do not need to use a bull seven years old to pull down Ba’al’s altar; instead, we may call on the name of Jesus Christ, and in his name cast out those demons.
Spiritual battle zone
Christians today are like soldiers being sent into a battle without proper training. Our ministers are not giving us the warnings and information we need about the enemy. Our watchmen are not sounding the alarm; they do not seem aware of what is going on in the spiritual realm—many are even embarrassed to hear talk of such things.
In Ephesians 6, Paul describes the spiritual equipment of a soldier for Christ. Paul says we are to gird ourselves with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We often hear this passage mentioned in sermons, and rightly so, because it is of fundamental importance. But then Paul adds an admonition for us to “keep alert with all perseverance” (Ephesians 6:18). Alert for what? Alert for the wiles of the devil, that is what. We need knowledge of the enemy so we know what to stay alert for. We need to know the enemy’s disguises to prevent him from sneaking in behind our battle lines when we aren’t looking.
Deuteronomy 6:19 tells us that God’s people were not instructed to waltz merrily into the promised land and receive a land that was welcoming them with open arms. Rather, they were told to enter the promised land “by thrusting out all your enemies from before you.” They were warned of the evil practices of the occupants of the land, and they were told to rid the land completely of such practices. That was their assignment then, and that is our assignment today, as well. We are not to take on the whole armor of God only to stand around like bewildered blind men.
We are battling “against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). We are battling against powers we cannot see, so we need to be aware of their stratagems. When we detect these enemies at work, we are to use our spiritual weapons to thrust them out before us. We are to do this through the power of the blood of Jesus: a power which has already dealt Satan a mortal blow and assured us of the ultimate victory. We are to do this to give glory to God the Father, whose purpose is to use us to defeat his enemy Satan and all of Satan’s demons. We are to do this because it is what we are commanded to do: We are commanded to serve as faithful and informed soldiers of the cross.