Demons and Witches

If I mention the Devil many people would automatically think of a being in a red suit with horns and a long tail with a spear on the end and a pitchfork in his hand; this is, of course, the cartoon character we have grown up with, and most people would dismiss him as a joke. However, when someone speaks of Hell people often think of a very hot place where a character like that resides, waiting to receive sinners and give them a “Hell of a time”. Well the truth of the matter, as outlined in the New Testament, is that the Devil looks nothing like that. Jesus referred to him as “the prince of this world” (John 14:30, 16:11) and, as yet, He does not reside in Hell either. Instead He “roams around the whole earth, seeking whom he may devour,” and far from looking so obviously bad, he appears as “an angel of light”; you see he is a deceiver who is constantly endeavouring to trap people. Mainly by tempting them to make bad decisions.

Anyone setting a trap to catch anything makes that trap as attractive as possible don’t they? e.g. you place cheese in a mouse trap, not because you like mice, but because mice like cheese. likewise, the Devil tries to make his traps attractive to us too. Thus the unsuspecting person is snared before he or she realises it.  “What sort of traps”? Well they are too numerous to list, but it could be that you have been invited to a party where Alcoholic drinks and drugs are freely available. It may be that you find yourself in a position where dishonest or immoral behaviour appears to be acceptable. You may be tempted to drive too fast, and so on.

Then there are even more subtle things like watching lustful movies. “What harm do they do”? Well they can spoil your relationship with others for life and you can even become demon-possessed. “How does that happen”? Well Jesus assured us that Satan (the Devil) has no shortage of Demons working for him and if a demon of lust sees you watching such a movie you are wide open for it to enter and control you. Oh I know that to-day, psychologists, and the like, would not agree that there are demons. But they probably don’t believe there is a God either, so when they treat the serial killer, serial rapist, or paedophile they treat the symptom, (with little success). Whereas Jesus treated the cause by casting it out and then the symptom automatically disappeared.

Witches, Fortune Tellers and Mediums are also a part of Satan’s “box of tricks”. If you studied Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at school, you will recall that Macbeth looked for advice from Witches and they gave him advice all right, but it was only a half truth, and his downfall was in following that advice. In real life that is also true: Mediums at Séances may appear to call up a relation who will answer your questions but in reality that is not your relation but a “Familiar Spirit” which is a spirit that watched your relation for years and is “familiar” with his or her doings. And it is no good asking that spirit for information as to how they are getting along because you will only receive plausible lies from them. The bible tells us not to have anything to do with these deceiving spirits. A Christian friend of mine was walking across a park and passed a woman praying and commented how nice it was to see someone praying. Her reply startled him somewhat “I am a Witch and I am praying for the breakup of Christian marriage” she said. Now who do you think she was praying to? Certainly not God.

The New Testament makes it very clear that we are in constant danger of attack. Now what do police and soldiers do when they know they are going to be under attack? The first thing they do is to dress in protective clothing; they wear a helmet, bullet- proof vest, solid boots, the necessary gear attached to their belt, a shield to ward off missiles thrown at them, and a baton. Interestingly that is almost identical to the instructions given to you and me in the New Testament but “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10: 4) so our protective gear must be Spiritual. Therefore, the Apostle Paul tells us, in Ephesians Chapter 6 and verse 11 to 18, to “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the whiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places……. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication….” Without that armour of God, we are “sitting ducks”. A young man asked me to write something on witchcraft, so there is a brief summary.  Best wishes, Tom.